Philippines Secures Additional 9,151 MT Raw Sugar Quota from US

The US Trade Representative (USTR) said the Philippines has been granted an additional raw cane export quota of 9,151 metric tons raw value (MTRV) for the fiscal year 2027. The additional quota is part of the 55,993 MTRV in raw cane sugar that remained unallocated under the US’ tariff-rate quota (TRQ) scheme for the upcoming fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 next year. The USTR allocated 1.06 million MTRV of raw cane sugar imports to 39 countries, including the Philippines, in July under the TRQ system from the 1.12 million MTRV in-quota quantity for the TRQ on raw cane sugar for 2027, which is the minimum that the US committed under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement. The USTR noted that the administrator of the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service announced the establishment of the in-quota quantity on July 14. “The allocations of the raw cane sugar WTO TRQ to countries that are net importers of sugar are conditioned on receipt of the appropriate verifications of origin,” the USTR said in a statement. “Certificates of quota eligibility must accompany imports from any country for which an allocation has been provided,” it added. The USTR’s TRQ system allows countries to export specified quantities of a product to the US at relatively low tariff rates, while products that are above a pre-determined threshold will be subject to higher tariffs. Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Administrator Pablo Luis S. Azcona said the SRA wrote to the USDA asking for a time extension before it can make a formal commitment to export raw cane sugar to the US. “We need to monitor and verify our raw production,” Mr. Azcona said. — Marron Joshua F. Mendoza