Malacañang on Thursday said there was a proposal by the Department of Agriculture to import 150,000 metric tons of sugar.
Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said the planned importation would benefit industries that use sugar in large commercial quantities.
“Kino-confirm natin na iyon ang proposed amount – 150,000 metric tons,” Cruz-Angeles said in a Palace briefing.
“Iyan po ang proposed na quantity for importation gawa nga ng pangangailangan ng mga industrials na tinatawag ng ating pangulo. Sila po ang gumagamit in commercial quantities, in large commercial quantities ng asukal and some jobs are dependent on their continued production,” she added.
Cruz-Angeles said the government had yet to set a date for the importation.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., secretary of the Department of Agriculture, earlier rejected a proposal for the country to import 300,000 metric tons of sugar.
Now-resigned Agriculture undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian had signed a sugar order greenlighting the importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar, but the move was deemed illegal and led to his departure from the Department of Agriculture.
The president has said he wanted to minimize imports during his term and increase local production. John Ezekiel J. Hirro