Sugar planters are seeking a minimum millgate price of P2,600 per 50-kilogram bag of raw sugar as the new milling season gets underway, with producers hoping stronger market conditions will help improve returns from the crop.
The Sugar Regulatory Administration said the request reflects the concerns of farmers over production costs and the need for prices that provide sufficient returns. SRA Administrator Pablo Azcona said, however, that the agency has no authority to directly set millgate prices at sugar mills.
Azcona said current inventory levels could provide some support for local producers. Raw sugar inventories stood at 230,684 metric tons as of Sept. 6, down from 373,816 metric tons a year earlier. Refined sugar stocks also declined to 304,203 metric tons from 367,536 metric tons during the same period.
Domestic demand for raw sugar fell 2.4% year-on-year to 1.79 million metric tons as of Sept. 6, while demand for refined sugar increased 2.4% to 613,076 metric tons. The combination of lower inventories and relatively firm demand for refined sugar could influence market conditions during the new crop year.
Milling operations officially began on Sept. 28, although deliveries of sugarcane to mills were initially slow. Azcona expects deliveries to increase as more mills begin operations, with some facilities scheduled to start milling on Oct. 1.
The P2,600 target is also significant because sugar producers have previously reported periods when millgate prices fell below production costs. Earlier this year, industry representatives said millgate prices had dropped from around P2,600 to about P2,100 per 50-kilogram bag amid increased supplies of sugar substitutes and weaker demand for locally produced sugar.
Retail sugar prices remain considerably higher than the millgate level because transportation, processing, distribution and retail costs are added after sugar leaves the mill. As of Sept. 29, government price monitoring showed refined sugar at about P80 per kilogram, washed sugar at P75 and brown sugar at P70.
For planters, the challenge is to secure prices that can cover rising production expenses while keeping sugar affordable for consumers. With the 2026–2027 milling season now beginning, market demand, inventory levels and the pace of sugarcane deliveries will be closely watched as producers negotiate prices with mills.
