The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) expect local molasses prices to stabilize as they extend the moratorium on imports until March 2026, in response to high domestic stock levels and soft market prices.

“Based on the recommendation of the SRA, and in the interest of our farmers and millers, Administrator Azcona and I have agreed to extend the moratorium on molasses imports until March 30, 2026 — or further, depending on local stock levels,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel said on Wednesday.

The SRA and DA may revise the order depending on future inventory levels.

Extension warranted

SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said the extension is warranted, noting that local inventories remain at about 250,000 metric tons — considered sufficient for domestic requirements.

He also reported that milling began on 1 October in Negros Island, with production reaching nearly 84,000 metric tons as of 9 November.

“The extension will help relieve our millers’ tanks of local stock and, hopefully, support better molasses prices,” he said.

In a separate statement, the Philippine Sugar Millers Association Inc., which accounts for about 70 percent of the country’s sugarcane milling capacity, said it supports the development.

“The extension is a critical market-stabilizing measure… an extension is not only warranted — it is necessary to rebalance the market,” PSMA executive director Jesus L. Barrera said.

The group also warned that lifting the moratorium prematurely would further depress prices amid high inventories and weak demand for locally produced molasses.

Loss recovery during moratorium

Manuel Lamata, chairman of the United Sugar Producers Federation, said that farmers can start recovering losses while the moratorium is in place.

“This will bring prices back to the level they were last year. The farmers will be able to recover the losses we incurred last year,” he said.

Molasses Order No. 1, issued in September, initially suspended imports only until the end of this year after a 21-percent increase in production last milling season and additional imports drove prices down by almost half to below P10,000 per metric ton in early November.

Molasses is a dark syrup from sugarcane or sugar beets, used for animal feed, ethanol and sweetening.

Most local molasses goes to ethanol producers, helping oil companies meet the biofuel law’s requirement for locally made ethanol in gasoline.