PBBM: Govt, traders talking on P70 sugar B S P. M @sam_medenilla
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RESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. said the government is now negotiating with traders to bring down the price of sugar to as low as P70 per kilogram. This as the government is now trying to address the local sugar supply shortage, which is now hampering the operations of local food manufacturers and causing the price of the sweetener to rise. During an ambush interview after the PinasLakas vaccination drive in Manila on Wednesday, he
said he already engaged in talks with traders in an effort to stabilize the price of sugar. “They first offered to make it P80 [per kilogram]. But I appealed to them to make it P70 instead since the people are suffering [from high prices]. And we are getting there,” Marcos said in Filipino.
Market impact
BASED on its regular market monitoring, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) reported the price of sugar in Metro Manila supermarkets was at P93.01 per kilogram, while that being sold in public markets in the region was at
P95 per kilogram. The price of refined sugar in Metro Manila was even higher, reaching P115 per kilogram in supermarkets and P100 per kilogram in public markets. Sugar became more expensive since local supply of the sweetener cannot keep up with market demand due to lower cane production and delay in import arrivals. Marcos said the sugar supply shortage has also caused some food manufacturers to reduce the days of their operations. “They are starting to cut down the days of the week of their work and we are very worried of course
about jobs,” Marcos said. On Tuesday, major beverage manufacturers issued a joint statement confirming they are now facing a shortage of premium refined sugar.
Reorganized SRA
TO address the supply issue, he said he is now reorganizing the SRA to conduct stakeholder consultations to determine the current sugar supply inventory. “We’ll reorganize the SRA and then we will come to an arrangement with the industrial consumC A
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Thursday, August 18, 2022 Vol. 17 No. 314
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@caiordinario
HE economic team has expressed concern that the country’s sugar situation could spill over to the informal economy and hurt the poor even more, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda). In the 2022 Economic Journalists Association of the PhilippinesSan Miguel Corporation Economic Forum on Wednesday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the sugar situation is a matter that needs the economic team’s attention as it will impact local producers and food manufacturers. The situation, Balisacan said, could also affect lowly vendors selling Filipino street food favorites such as banana cue and kamote cue, and who rely on affordable sugar prices to continue operating their microenterprise.
Employment impacted
“SO there is a lot of employment that will be affected by soaring prices. So it should be a concern for us as a watcher of the economy and manager of the economy, you need to have a kind of balancing act,” Balisacan said. “While we protect our farmers from headwinds, we also have to ensure that the tools that we employ to protect our farmers do not harm the rest of the economy, especially that we are trying to get poverty reduced, the economy moving at a high growth trajectory,” he added. Balisacan said local prices of both raw and refined sugar have been rising at over 5 percent a month since the beginning of the year. This rate of increase is “quite fast.” “That would have an impact not just on our local producers but also for our food manufacturers, our SMEs, banana cue, kamote cue and they are all users. So there is a lot of employment that will be affected S “E,” A
FROM left, Finance Undersecretary Zeno Ronald R. Abenoja, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe M. Medalla, EJAP President Cai U. Ordinario, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan and Budget Undersecretary Joselito R. Basilio after a panel session during the 2022 EJAP-SMC Economic Forum at the Ayuntamiento de Manila on Wednesday, August 17, 2022. PHOTO COURTESY OF EJAP
BSP not keen on penalizing bank lending to GHG emitters B B C @BcuaresmaBM
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HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is not keen on implementing penalties for banks that are lending to activities that emit greenhouse gases. Speaking in an economic forum
hosted by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP) and San Miguel Corp. (SMC), BSP Governor Felipe Medalla said the Philippines will not likely follow the footsteps of central banks in other jurisdictions that penalize lending to economically harmful companies or activi-
ties. Medalla said this is because overall, the Philippines is deemed to have a minute contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. “In other countries the banks are being forced to reduce lending to activities that emit greenhouse gases. We are not doing that because we are a ‘rounding error’ in
the production of those gases,” Medalla said. The governor, nonetheless, urged banks to continue pricing in the effects of climate change in their overall risk assessment. “We are telling the banks: include climate change in your calculation of risks. I used to think
this was not important until EV [a senior BSP official] told me she was not able to leave the BSP and she had to wait there for a few hours because the BSP became a little island surrounded by water,” Medalla said. S “BSP,” A
NEDA CLEARED TO REVISIT IRR OF BOT
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HE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) has received the “go signal” from the President to again review the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Build Operate Transfer (BOT) Law. Addressing the 2022 Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines-San Miguel Corporation Economic Forum on Wednesday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the review seeks to address the weaknesses of the IRR. Balisacan said an Executive Order (EO) is currently being prepared to officially jumpstart the process. He said the economic team has discussed the IRR
“a number of times” and the President has already been briefed on the issues. “We have received several private sector stakeholders’ comments expressing their concerns over specific provisions of the IRR. Of course, the careful review of the rules requires that we perform a balancing act: encouraging private investment to promote job creation, technological innovation, and product competition while protecting the public interest,” Balisacan said in his presentation. Balisacan said the Neda and other key agencies including its attached agency, the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Center, are ready to start the review process.
They have already taken initial steps to consult stakeholders. However, Balisacan assured the public that the review to be conducted will not be limited to the concerns of certain stakeholders. He stressed that there remains a need to perform a balancing act. The Neda chief said they are hoping that by next week, the EO to jumpstart the review process can be released. “We have to look at the economics, all the angles to make sure that in the end it is socially beneficial, it is economically beneficial, it’s financially viable. In the end, it’s all about viability and S “N,” A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES ■ US 55.9660 ■ JAPAN 0.4169 ■ UK 67.6853 ■ HK 7.1372 ■ SINGAPORE 40.5992 ■ AUSTRALIA 39.2937 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 14.9084 ■ EU 56.9174 ■ KOREA 0.0427 ■ CHINA 8.2436 Source: BSP (August 17, 2022)