Sweet plan: DA eyes retail sale of seized smuggled sugar

The Department of Agriculture (DA) plans to sell the sacks of sugar seized at warehouses in a series of raids conducted amid the shortage of supply in the market.

DA Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban said Wednesday (August 31) that Malacañang is waiting for an inventory of sugar stocks before deciding on what to do with the confiscated supply.

“Maybe they could be confiscated and distributed to supermarkets and small sellers so that sugar can be sold at a low price,” added Panganiban.

Big supermarkets owned by bilyonaryos have agreed to sell refined sugar at P70 per kilogram, from a high of P100 a kilo.

Over the past few weeks, authorities raided warehouses in Quezon City, Bulacan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon amid reports of an artificial shortage caused by hoarding of sugar.

The shortage of sugar has led to the closure of at least four bottling plants of Coca-Cola Philippines.

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