Unifed upbeat for ‘favorable’ ruling against sugar order

February 27, 2022 by No Comments

THE United Sugar Producers Federation (Unifed) has expressed optimism that the courts will see the merit of their argument to issue a permanent temporary restraining order (TRO) against Sugar Order No. 3 issued by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).Unifed, one of the biggest federations of sugar planters in the country, was earlier granted a TRO by a local court based in Sagay City, Negros Occidental against an “ill-timed and ill-planned” sugar order that provides for the country’s importation program for Crop Year 2021 to 2022.Its president Manuel Lamata, in a press statement, said they have been informed that the courts will issue the decision by March 4, two days before the restraining order expires on March 6.“We are hoping for a favorable ruling, for another extension of the TRO, or make it permanent,” he said.Unifed Director Joseph Edgar Sarrosa, who filed the case as president of the Rural Sugar Planters Association Inc., said “we had a productive discussion and we remain positive about this entire exercise.”The Rural Sugar Planters Association Inc. is a member-association of Unifed.Sarrosa earlier said they led the filing of the TRO upon the urging of their planter-members who expected that such a sugar order will lead to depressed sugar prices, a fact that already happened during the recent week’s bidding, just two days after the release of SO3.It can be recalled that aside from Unifed, other planters groups in the country like the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) and Asociacion de Agricultores de La Carlota y Pontevedra Inc. (AALCPI) have also slammed the issuance of SO3 that allows the importation of 200,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar, especially since it is the peak of the sugar milling season.Released on February 4, 2022, SO3 stated that of the total import volume of 200,000 MT of refined sugar, half of which shall be standard grade refined sugar and the other 100,000 MT shall be bottlers’ grade refined sugar.”The SRA pushed us to the wall, thus the filing of the TRO,” he said, adding that “we are not against importation, what we are against is an ill-timed and ill-planned importation. Any importation should be calibrated, scheduled and fair to all.”Lamata, moreover, said that if they will not get another stay of the TRO, they will file another motion on the date that it expires.The federation is also closely following the proceedings of similar cases filed by other groups against SO3.