Goking to probe sugar shortage

TRADE and commerce chair City Councilor George Goking said he will look into claims of abnormal shortage or alleged manipulation that supposedly caused hefty spikes in sugar prices not only in the city but in other cities and towns in Northern Mindanao.

Goking added his committee will look into issues relative to the shortage in the supply of sugar which has affected the production of some commodities.

“I want to hear from sugar suppliers and dealers on the matter,” said Goking, adding that he would also ask them why there is a hike in prices.

Earlier, Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez warned that the government will continue going after unscrupulous traders jacking up prices of food items, particularly sugar, as consumers continue to feel the burden of rising costs of commodities.

Rodriguez made this remark after his office ordered the Bureau of Customs to exercise “visitorial” power to a warehouse suspected of hoarding thousands of sacks of sugar amid consumer complaints about high sugar prices in San Fernando City, Pampanga.

Like Rodriguez, Goking said, he was just acting on the directive from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr for the BOC to exercise its powers to all customs bonded warehouses and to check on the inventory of imported agricultural products to find out if there is hoarding of sugar.

Meanwhile, in a statement that the huge volume of sugar discovered by authorities in the various inspected warehouses in Luzon has led Malacanang to conclude that the sugar shortage is abnormal, customs officials are checking if the warehouses had authentic import permits, it added.

Sugar shortage in the country is “artificial” and was caused by some traders’ allegedly hoarding supply to rake in profits, the government said.

Some 60,000 bags of suspected hoarded sugar from Thailand were found in warehouses during weekend inspections.

Goking, however, did not specify if his committee already received complaints of artificial shortage here in the city.

Yet, in an interview, undersecretary for consumer and political affairs Kristine Evangelista confirmed that they have been receiving reports of a sugar shortage.

Evangelista added that they were verifying complaints of hoarding or manipulation they had received and, if proven true, Gokng said the Department of Agriculture-10 would have to “take the necessary steps.”

“An investigation is necessary to solve the problem,” said Goking, adding that sugar dealers should shed light on the causes of the sudden shortage of supply in the market today.

In the city, Goking said the DA-10 should also review the cost structure of sugar prices.

Prices in the retail markets undergo various layers, from producing to marketing this sweetener, according to Goking.

He said that sugar prices are largely dictated by traders, and are supply-driven.

The committee according to Goking will also conduct a physical inventory and inspect all warehouses where the dealers’ sugar stockpile is stored as part of the government’s efforts to fix the value chain.

Today, refined sugar in supermarkets is sold from as low as P69.30 per kilogram to as high as P115 per kilogram, and in wet markets, from P88 to P95 per kilogram, based on the Sugar Regulatory Administration’s price monitoring as of July 15.

Retail prices of raw sugar in supermarkets range from P54.20 to P82 per kg while in wet markets, it is sold for P65 to P70 per kg.

The SRA earlier also indicated the country’s sugar reserve would last until August although next month’s harvest may shore up the dwindling supply.

Goking reiterated that the DA and the industry department should shed light on the causes of the sudden shortage of supply in the market.

He said that reports indicate that the low supply of sugar has affected top soda producers.

“The situation will affect the economy because there are also big companies here in region-10 that need sugar in manufacturing their products,” Goking pointed out.

“This problem should be given immediate attention,” he said.