More on sugar issues

My item on sugar issues last Saturday got quite a good feedback from readers who texted me their reaction. I forwarded their reactions to SRA Administrator James C. Ledesma who answered them. There were still reactions I was not able to forward to James.

One issue raised was that SRA needs a PR man, a spokesman. Ledesma said it's not his priority. I agree. James better be his own spokesman. Nothing better than what we call in media, "Getting it straight from the horse's mouth."

If Ledesma is not doing foolishness there and I don't believe he does, he must not be afraid to personally face critics.

On a slow consumption growth, James said "Demand hasn't followed population growth for the past seven years." He added, "Demand has been flat and even going down. Shift in consumer buying is the main cause. Cell cards also a reason." He meant per capita consumption went down.

Many don't believe this? Smuggling!

One reaction, especially from Neil Honeyman said, "2007 population increase means our sugar consumption is 400,000 tons more than in 1997."

Planters must look into the smuggling aspect. Both actual and technical.

The suspect is the Customs Bonded Warehouse.

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All these controversies came in the wake of a letter of three sugar federation presidents to Ledesma opposing what they said was a sugar order signed by Ledesma for the importation of sugar.

Ledesma denied this. He said his sugar order was for the food exporters to buy local sugar, allocated for the purpose. Food exporters are allowed to buy sugar abroad if it is to be used to produce food for exports.

But sugar producers said, "No, we sell them local sugar." That's the rationale of the "D" allocation.

The sugar producers suspicion arose because the 6 percent allocated by them last November was not bought. Hence, the suspicion on that controversial sugar order.

Sugar people feared imported sugar by food exporters always in the past found its way into the local market depressing sugar prices.

The culprits here is the Customs Bonded Warehouse, notorious for questionable importations. Some planters said, the importation was made already. The Sugar Alliance should work out to file court cases against persons concerned, importing without SRA order.

Noise alone will bring no results.

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I sympathize with James Ledesma. His position requires an ability to walk the tightrope which is allowing the producers of sugar to make some profit but at the same time protecting the consumers not to be hit by costly sugar for consumption. Which is difficult.

Every move of his is suspect among the conflicting interests of producers, traders, consumers, and politicians with vested interests.

When Ledesma made controversial moves, whispers always abound, "For how many million reasons?"

On my own, I believe, so far, James Ledesma has kept his nose clean. A planter one time asked, "Do you know enough?" I said, "No!" But I asked him if he knew I would not hesitate to confront Ledesma and expose him. And James knows me well enough.

If there's the truth, I will not hesitate to throw the books at him. But, so far James Ledesma's credibility is intact.

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James Ledesma has stayed the longest at SRA. I know every time a rumor surfaced he would be replaced, I could see a common stand among the industry's leaders was to be behind Ledesma. "He may not be perfect but so far he's good."

Everybody was afraid a sticky-fingered mosquito gets inside the mosquito net and sucks everything there.

We hope the planters continues to be vigilant.

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Senatorial candidate Mike Defensor was in town last Saturday and paid a courtesy call on businessman Ricardo Yanson. Yanson's group, the Sunshine Boys, was there too. This was a close-up with a brilliant and excellent public official. His father, Rep. Mat Defensor of Quezon City, and I were together in early 1980s. He was executive director of the Publishers Association of the Philippines while I was a member of the board.

The last time Mat was in Bacolod, he called me up. But, I was already in a ferry going to Iloilo.

Many other Senatorial hopefuls will be coming to Bacolod. Negros Occidental is a vote-rich province with some 1.5 million voters. Iloilo has only 1.1 million.*

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