The Sugar Regulatory Administration is seeking P2 billion in Philippine sugar funding to address damage from drought and red-striped soft scale insects. The request has not yet been approved.

Philippine sugar funding request

Administrator Pablo Azcona said the agency had received P1 billion annually under the Sugarcane Industry Development Act, supplemented by P500 million in unused funds from previous years. Senators Francis Pangilinan and Juan Miguel Zubiri supported seeking a larger allocation, he said.

If the P2 billion is approved, the agency plans to devote P1 billion to irrigation and insect control through extension services and block farming. Irrigation would receive 60% of that amount and pest control 40%. The pest-control share would support drone-spraying equipment, biocontrol fungi and regional laboratories.

Sugar export decision awaits production review

The regulator is also assessing the current milling season before deciding whether the Philippines can commit raw sugar exports to the United States. Azcona said he had asked the US Department of Agriculture for until mid- or late November to decide, so the agency could review October production.

Azcona said milling operations were now at full capacity after only three mills in Negros were operating at the season’s start. Based on the agency’s estimates, farmers and millers agreed to reserve all raw sugar output for domestic use.

Sugar Order No. 1 designates all raw sugar produced in crop year 2026–2027 for the domestic market. The order projects output of 1.662 million metric tons for the year running from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027.

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