Agriculture/Commodities DA: 3 firms to import sugar under MAV scheme

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

ONLY three entities will import the 64,050 metric tons (MT) of sugar through the minimum access volume (MAV) mechanism, based on documents from the Department of Agriculture (DA).

DA documents indicated that the beginning year pool (BYP) for sugar MAV was allocated to three importers, which were all tagged as “new entrants.”

T he three sugar MAV importers are Agro Bulk Marine Corp., Leslie Corp. and San Fernando Eric Commercial Inc., according to the documents.

A ll sugar MAV importers are international sugar traders accredited by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) for crop year 2022-2023.

SRA documents also showed that

PHL commitment

the three importers have been accredited as sugar traders for years.

A gro Bulk Marine Corp. and San Fernando Eric Commercial Inc. each received an allocation of 31,775 MT while Leslie Corp. got 500 MT.

T he three importers may import sugar classified under harmonized system code (HS) 1701, which would include raw sugar, cane sugar and beet sugar, among others.

L eslie Corp. is a local food manufacturer known for brands like Clover Chips and Cheezy, among others. Meanwhile, Agro Bulk Marine Corp. and San Fernando Eric Commercial Inc. are also registered rice importers, according to the Bureau of Plant Industry.

Sugar industry stakeholders and even some government officials said they were taken aback by the decision of the DA to open the MAV for sugar the current crop year, as it has not been used for more than two decades.

THE MAV for sugar was last opened in 2002 through a sugar order issued by the SRA, an attached governmentowned and -controlled corporation of the agriculture department.

Official World Trade Organization (WTO) documents showed that the administration of the sugar MAV is under the purview of the SRA unlike the other commodities that are governed by the DA’s MAV Management Committee.

MAV is a trade mechanism that allows the importation of agricultural goods at a lower tariff. Imports outside the MAV or also known as out-quota are slapped with a higher tariff rate.

It is part of the Philippines’s commitment for selected agricultural commodities under the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture.

In the case of sugar imports, supplies within MAV are slapped with a 50 percent tariff while those outside MAV are levied with a 65 percent tariff.

However, any sugar imported by the Philippines from the Asean region will only have an applied tariff rate of 5 percent under the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement or Atiga.

T he United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila said sugar imported under the MAV could be P7 per kilogram cheaper than prevailing local retail prices. (Related story: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2023/01/13/importation-seen-to-bring-down-priceof-sugar-by-p7-per-kg/)

Pundits told the BusinessMirror that the sugar MAV could be effective in bringing in supplies from non-Asean sources, such as Brazil and Australia, especially if there are concerns with the stocks of neighboring countries like Thailand. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2023/01/02/govt-mulling-overmav-scheme-for-sugar-imports/)