President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Agriculture (DA) to expedite the importation of over 64,000 metric tons (MT) of refined sugar to stabilize the prices of basic commodities.
Marcos Jr., who concurrently chairs the DA, said that he was concerned with the "very high" inflation rate.
Under DA Memorandum Order No. 77, Series of 2022, signed by Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban on December 20, 2022, it said the summary inflation report consumer price index issued on December 6, the annual inflation increment for sugars, confectionery and desserts have reached 38 percent.
The circular ordered the body to "expedite the importation of 64,070 metric tons of refined sugar" through the MAV mechanism.
According to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the market price of sugar has increased at a pace of 5 percent since the start of the year.
Marcos earlier approved Sugar Order (SO) No. 2, which allows the importation of 150,000 MT of sugar.
