Philippine raw sugar output in the present crop year ending in August will likely be higher than initially forecast, raising prospects of lower imports, a senior official said on Tuesday.
"We have not authorised additional imports. We need to review whether we still need it," James Ledesma, administrator of the Sugar Regulatory Administration, told reporters on the sidelines of an international sugar forum in Manila.
The Philippines has allowed seven trading firms to import 50,000 tonnes of refined sugar to replace part of the 200,000 tonnes it aims to export to the United States.
It had also said it was considering raising its sugar imports this year by another 30,000 tonnes.
Ledesma said he believed local trading firms had bought 50,000 tonnes of refined sugar from Europe in recent weeks, and that the first batch of 800 tonnes had arrived in the country in the second week of April.
"The crop is coming out slightly higher than our projection," Ledesma said, adding the latest raw sugar projection in the present crop year was 2.04 million tonnes, up from an earlier forecast of 2.018 million tonnes.
The country produced 2.150 million tonnes in the last season. Ledesma said he expected Philippine raw sugar output to increase by 5-8 percent in the 2006/2007 crop year starting in September due to the high price of hthe sweetener in both the domestic and world markets.
"When prices are good, farmers take care of their crop a little better," Ledesma said, adding a 50-kg bag of raw sugar is now sold at the mills at 1,250 pesos ($24.2) compared with 850 pesos at the same time last year.
"The weather also seems to be co-operating," he added.