The government is coordinating its response to mounting pressures on the Philippine sugar industry, while industry groups seek legislative changes to protect demand for locally produced cane sugar.
The sector is dealing with a red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation, drought risks, rising production costs, and growing competition from artificial sweeteners. The government has deployed financial assistance, chemical controls, drones, and biological measures against the pest, particularly in the Visayas.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said the broader response is being pursued under the direction of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who tasked the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) with spearheading efforts to address the industry’s concerns.
Tiu Laurel said First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos was also designated to help lead the stakeholder effort. Her visit to Negros, where she met farmers, workers, industry groups, and government officials, helped bring stakeholders together and laid the groundwork for the Sugar Industry Pest and Disaster Management Task Force.
The task force brings together agencies that can address the industry’s production, climate, financing, and disaster-related concerns.
“We need to support our local sugar industry with assistance, but also with the right policies and legislation that will allow our farmers and the industry to remain productive and competitive. The current DA/SRA cooperation have continually came out with new policies in this regard.” Tiu Laurel said.
SRA administrator and chief executive officer Pablo Luis Azcona said the government’s response is also important to protecting employment and livelihoods in sugar-producing areas.
“We have to provide protection to an industry that provides jobs to thousands of Filipinos, particularly in sugar producing areas. It is because of this that the current SRA Board and DA Sec Tiu-Laurel has came out with a number of pioneering sugar industry protection and transparency policies,” Azcona said.
At the same time, sugar groups are pressing for policy changes to address competition from artificial sweeteners and other substitutes, which they say are reducing demand for locally produced sugar.
A unified industry manifesto submitted to the DA and SRA called for tighter regulation of artificial sweeteners. Tiu Laurel has said the agencies would work on the issue because substitutes have become an “extraneous force” affecting demand for local sugar.
Industry data show the scale of the concern. Artificial sweeteners accounted for 18.4 percent of the market in 2024-2025, equivalent to 503,117 metric tons, while refined sugar demand declined 13.89 percent.
The industry has also urged lawmakers to revisit tax treatment, including proposals to reserve the lower tax bracket for beverages using pure Philippine cane sugar, while placing artificial substitutes and imported beverages in a higher tier and removing exemptions for stevia.
The measures reflect the range of pressures facing the industry, from pests and weather risks affecting production to changing consumption patterns and competition affecting demand. The government response is now being organized around both immediate assistance and longer-term policy changes. ### (By DA – OSEC Comms)
