The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is bracing for a substantial shortfall in raw sugar production, projected to reach 350,000 tons for the upcoming crop year of 2023-2024.
The SRA has set the expected raw sugar production for this crop year at 1.85 million tons while anticipating raw sugar withdrawals to surge to 2.2 million tons.
This year’s production represents a 15% decline compared to the previous crop year, which yielded 1.88 million tons of raw sugar.
Conversely, the demand for sugar, reflected in the withdrawal figures, has risen significantly from the preceding year’s 2.03 million tons. The previous crop year experienced an official shortage of just over 150,000 tons, prompting the SRA to take decisive action.
In response, the regulatory body issued a series of three sugar importation orders to alleviate the shortfall.
The initial order for 150,000 tons was released in September 2022. Subsequently, a second importation order, amounting to 440,000 tons, was issued on February 15, 2023. A third sugar importation order was issued on July 6, authorizing an additional 150,000 tons of sugar imports. In total, the importation allowed for the 2022/2023 crop year reached 740,000 tons.
