INAKUSAHAN ni dating Agriculture Secretary at Federation of Free Farmers Board Chairman Leonardo Montemayor ang mga negosyante na sangkot sa sobra-sobrang tubo sa gitna ng napakataas na presyo ng asukal sa merkado.
Sa ngayon, limitado ang suplay ng asukal dahil dito umabot na sa mahigit P100 ang kilo ng kada refined sugar sa mga palengke at supermarket.
“There is likely profiteering. Traders are involved in windfall gains. Traders buy their sugar at very low farmgate price but there is a big diffirence between the buying price for the raw sugar as against the retail price,” sabi ni Montemayor.
Idinagdag ni Montemayor na batay sa pahayag ni United Sugar Producers Federation (UNIFED) President Manuel Lamata, binibili lamang ng mga trader ang kanilang asukal ng P45 kada kilo.
“There is a windfall profit making at stake here and even the government allows the importations to come in, unless we address these windfall gains or excessive profiteering, the high prices of sugar will continue so I agree that should be carefully addressed,” dagdag ni Montemayor.
Ito’y sa harap ng plano ng pamahalaan na mag-angkat ng 150,000 metriko toneladang asukal sa Oktubre.
Samantala, iginiit ni Lamata na dapat inspeksyunin ang lahat ng milling at bodega ng asukalupang matiyak na walang hoarding na nagaganap.
“The DTI should inspect all the sugar mills and bodegas of the traders for health reasons, like the presence of cockroaches and rats but the media should be allowed to cover to determine if there are stocks inside these warehouses,” sabi ni Lamata.
