It may be tough because of a powerful and moneyed sugar lobby, but the Marcos administration is looking at dismantling the industry's cartel to bring prices of many other manufactured food items down, the country's chief economist said.

"That's surely part of the things that we need to look at closely. We need to improve our competitiveness; we need to get our manufacturing to take off, and food processing is a big part of our manufacturing. Sugar is a very important input there. So we'll have to look at that issue closely and ensure that, as we are trying to protect our sugar producers, we don't do it at the expense of the rest of the economy, particularly manufacturing," Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in an interview.

Asked what was the problem of the domestic sugar production sector amid currently higher prices of the commodity, Balisacan replied: "Obviously, we are protecting our sugar industry. We have to examine the issue closely because we also don't want to harm the chances for our manufacturing [sector] and related industries to become more dynamic, more robust players."

The Duterte administration attempted to jump-start liberalizing sugar trade to slash prices, but study commissioned by the state planning agency National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) suggested a gradual opening up to imports to ensure that cheaper prices will benefit all consumers—not only the rich who buy more of the product, but also the poor. But this policy will hurt local producers.

In its 2021 report titled "An Assessment of Reform Directions for the Philippine Sugar Industry," Neda consultant Brain Trust Inc. said "the case for sugar trade liberalization appears weak at this time."

"Should it be pursued nonetheless, it would be best done gradually and only partially, especially in the face of severe distortions in the world sugar market," the report read.

After allowing more rice imports, Duterte's economic managers had set their sights on dismantling the protections of the local sugar industry, but the plan took a back seat as the outgoing administration would down their activities.

This early, Balisacan conceded that opening up sugar trade would be "more complicated" than rice tariffication. —Ben O. de Vera INQ