The Philippines said on Wednesday it had allowed seven trading firms to import 50,000 tonnes of refined sugar to replace part of the 200,000 tonnes that the country aims to export to the United States.
"The duty free refined imports would be used as an incentive to the exporters for them to ship out more to the United States," state agency Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said in a statement.
The imports should arrive in the country after June 1 when the bulk of the current sugar milling season will have finished, SRA added. The Philippines is a beneficiary of a US programme to buy sugar from developing countries at prices higher than global market levels.
Its US quota was raised to 216,438 tonnes in the current marketing year ending September this year from the previous 137,353 tonnes due to the damage caused to sugar plantations in Louisiana and Florida by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
"The SRA is confident that with the proper implementation of its export-import programme, the Philippines would be able to ship a total volume of around 200,000 tonnes and be very close to fulfilling its total quota to the United States," the state agency said.
"The Philippines had committed to fill this up in order to maintain its status as a reliable sugar supplier to the US market, which has traditionally been a premium and a stable market," it added.
The south-east Asian country has already shipped 50,000 tonnes of raw sugar to the United States. Traders have said the Philippines has to import sugar this year to fill up the increase in the US sugar quota.