The El Nino phenomenon will severely impact the sugar harvest next year, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said Monday.

In an interview with dzBB, SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said sugar cane planting was been delayed due to lack of irrigation caused by El Nino.

“The major effect of El Nino now is that the sugar that we are going to harvest next year should have been planted since October 2023 until now. That’s our problem because since there is no irrigation or source of water, this will greatly affect the sugarcane farms,” Azcona said.

Azcona said this delay could lower supply next year, but he could not say if it would affect prices.

“If the effect of El Nino will truly hit us, the farmgate price could slightly decrease. But so far, the farmgate price ranges from P2,500 to P2,800 (per 50 kilogram bag). Meanwhile, the retail price has declined and it has been stable for almost the whole year,” Azcona said.

Azcona said the 2023-2024 crop year began in September last year instead of August like 2022 to 2023. Jaspearl Tan/DMS