The United States has announced that it will be importing 1,117,195 metric tons of sugar in 2008 under its Tariff Rate Quota Allocations, and will purchase 142,160 MT from the Philippines, Enrique Rojas, National Federation of Sugarcane Planters president, said yesterday.

Rojas said the Philippine share of the US sugar quota is similar to what it was allocated last crop year.

RP sugar sold to the US Market fetch a higher prices than that sold to the world market and help decongest the domestic supply, he said. However, the US prices are not as good as they were before because of the drop in the value of the dollar to the peso and the high shopping cost. Of the 40 countries included in the US quota the Philippines was allocated the third largest share next to the Dominican Republic with 185,335 metric tons and Brazil with 152,691 metric tons.

These allocations are based on the countries' historical shipments to the United States, a US Secretary of Agriculture statement said.*CPG

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