Philippines: Sugar Annual
Market Year (MY) 2017/18 raw sugar production is expected to drop to 2.3 million metric tons (MMT) from 2.5 MMT in MY 2016/17 due to unfavorable weather conditions and lower sugar content and tonnage of cane produced. Industry contacts anticipate demand for sugar to rise due to a rapidly developing food processing industry and a growing population. Post projects sugar consumption for MY 2017/18 to increase slightly from the previous year as beverage manufacturers purchase additional local sugar due to tighter regulations on the importation of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and new excise taxes. Raw sugar exports in MY 2016/17 were revised upwards 100,000 metric tons (MT) to 300,000 MT on updated data and a bumper crop but are expected to decline in MY 2017/18 to 220,000 MT due to a reduction in sugar earmarked for the world market by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).
