The United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) has projected a sugar shortage of 300,000 metric tons in the Philippines for the upcoming crop year 2023/2024.
According to USDA’s forecast, sugar consumption is expected to reach 2.2 million tons, while production is anticipated to reach only 1.9 million tons.
In the current crop year 2022/2023, the USDA FAS reported a sugar shortage of 170,000 tons in the Philippines, significantly lower than the 440,000 tons authorized for importation by the Sugar Regulatory Administration. Consumption for this year is forecasted at 2 million tons, with production estimated at 1.83 million tons.
The USDA FAS also noted that the ending stocks of sugar in the Philippines at the conclusion of the 2022/2023 crop year will amount to 1.46 million tons, representing an increase of over 50% compared to the 931,000 tons at the end of the previous crop year.
On a global scale, the USDA FAS raised the estimated ending stocks by 2.4% to 39.5 million tons for the 2022/2023 crop year. Specifically, they highlighted an increase in the Philippines’ ending stocks by 530,000 tons to 1.5 million tons due to higher imports.
