Sugar industry of the Philippines

Sugarcane fields at the base of Mount Kanlaon in Negros Island

As of 2023, the Philippines produced 1,850,000 metric tons of sugar, ranking 17th in the world according to sugar production.[1] In 2005, the Philippines was the ninth largest sugar producer in the world and second largest sugar producer among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, after Thailand, according to Food and Agriculture Organization.[2] At least seventeen provinces of the Philippines have grown sugarcane, of which the two on Negros Island account for half of the nation's total production,[3] and sugar is one of the Philippines' most important agricultural exports.[4] In crop year 2009–2010, 29 sugar mills are operational, divided as follows: thirteen mills on Negros, six mills on Luzon, four mills on Panay, three mills in Eastern Visayas and three mills on Mindanao.[5] As of crop year 2023–2024, 25 mills are operational.[6] Of 25 sugar mills, 11 have their own sugar refineries.[7] Among the major island groups, Visayas has the most number of operational mills with 17, 13 of which are from Negros Island alone.

Sugarcane is not a sensitive crop and can be grown in almost all types of soil, from sandy to clay loams and from acidic volcanic soils to calcareous sedimentary deposits. The harvest period is from October to December and ends in May.

In 2015, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines announced that they will include the Industrial Sugar Central Sites of the Philippines and related properties to the UNESCO World Heritage List.[8]

  1. ^ "Production - Sugar". USDAFAS. US Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service, Retrieved on June 16, 2024.
  2. ^ "ESS Statistics". FAO. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Retrieved on May 31, 2013.
  3. ^ Villones, R. (2019). "Contextualizing Local Dance Festival on the Lifestyle of Negrense Sugarcane Plantation Workers" (PDF). Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  4. ^ De Leon, Remi (May 21, 2021), CRC holds its 2021 International Food and Agribusiness Investor Roadshow, Center for Research and Communication, University of Asia and the Pacific, retrieved October 31, 2023
  5. ^ "Sugar Industry Historical Statistics". Sugar Regulatory Administration. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  6. ^ http://www.sra.da.gov.ph/view_file/stk_directory_sugar_mills/8kuQeyCrz9vrzmN [bare URL]
  7. ^ http://www.sra.da.gov.ph/view_file/stk_directory_sugar_refineries/KO0GNMpuxdrPpCw [bare URL]
  8. ^ https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6713/ [bare URL]