The National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) has thrown its full weight behind a critical appeal to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., calling for immediate government action to rescue the country's struggling sugar industry from a severe price collapse.
An Industry on the Brink of Collapse
In a letter sent to Malacañang on January 8, 2026, NFSP President Enrique Rojas detailed the dire financial situation forcing farmers to consider abandoning sugarcane cultivation. The root cause is unprofitable millgate prices that have fallen drastically this crop year.
Rojas revealed that on December 12, 2025, sugar prices plunged to a mere P2,103 per bag, marking the lowest point in four years. This is a stark drop from the average price of over P2,500 per bag during the same period the previous year.
"This crop year 2026, prices have been below production cost, and our farmer-members are losing between P200 to P400 per bag of sugar that we produce," Rojas stated, highlighting the unsustainable losses.
Rejecting Quick Fixes, Proposing Concrete Solutions
The federation expressed strong skepticism towards the Sugar Regulatory Administration's (SRA) proposed sugar export-import program. Rojas argued that such a measure would only offer a temporary price bump while perpetuating the cycle of over-importation that initially caused the price crash.
Instead of the SRA's plan, the NFSP, aligning with the earlier call from the Confederation of Sugar Producers Association Inc. (Confed) led by Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama Jr., presented a set of alternative proposals to the President:
- Direct government buying of domestic sugar to be sold at a modest profit post-milling season.
- Classification of imported sugar as "C" or reserve sugar to incentivize end-users to purchase local produce.
- Activation of the National Biofuels Board (NBB) to stabilize molasses supply and demand.
- Creation of a clear Sugar Importation Policy with strict guidelines on timing and volume.
- Establishment of a Technical Working Group to design the mechanics for the Direct Government Sugar Buying Program.
A Unified Call to Save Livelihoods
Valderrama of Confed had earlier emphasized that the industry is in a state of crisis, with plummeting prices, reduced yields, and soft demand causing widespread financial distress among farmers and millers, underutilizing refineries, and threatening massive job losses.
The unified appeal from these major industry groups underscores the urgency. "Together with the Confed, the NFSP trusts that you, Mr. President, will positively consider the proposed measures which we believe will ensure the sustainability of the sole source of livelihood of hundreds of thousands of farmers, mill workers and their families," Rojas concluded in his letter.
The ball is now in the administration's court to formulate a response that could determine the future of one of the Philippines' historic agricultural sectors.
