A GROUP of sugar industry workers warned that the proposed import program by the government would worsen the situation of planters displaced by the closure of Central Azucarera Don Pedro Inc.’s mill.
The group proposed that the national government take over CADPI’s sugar mill to save the livelihood of Batangas sugarcane industry workers and improve the country’s output of the commodity. “Is the SRA so keen on sabotaging the sugar industry?” UMA spokesperson and National Federation of Sugar Workers President John Milton Lozande said in a recent statement.
“Fuel and fertilizer subsidies are urgent. Stopping the importation of agricultural goods we can produce ourselves is urgent. And [President] Marcos Jr.’s resignation from the [Department of Agriculture], even more so,” Lozande said. “Without even trying, [the DA] is the reason why local producers are losing profit. Why don’t they wait for the end of the harvest and milling season of sugar?” the group said in a statement.Officials have earlier disclosed that it is still ironing out the guidelines for the proposed import program. Officials also noted that they would consider the recommendations and insights of concerned sugarcane industry stakeholders.