Regulation on artificial sweeteners pushed

THE sugar industry made a united front in pushing for regulation in the importation and use of artificial sweeteners which had threatened the very survival of the country’s sugarcane sector.

In a signed manifesto, received by the Sugar Regulatory Administration last January 30, the Department of Agriculture and SRA were asked to prevent, if not stop, the growing influx of sugar substitutes that threaten domestic sugar demand. 

The manifesto was forwarded to DA and was signed by all major sugar federations from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, along with sugar millers, refiners, and allied industry groups—an unusually broad show of consensus in a sector often marked by competing interests.

The issue first surfaced in 2024, when the DA and SRA flagged the growing influx of sugar substitutes as a threat to domestic sugar demand. 

DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and the SRA Board initiated a policy framework to closely monitor the actual importation of sugar substitutes, strengthening the SRA’s data on volumes and market impact.

“After various consultative meetings with sugar industry stakeholders initiated by the DA and the SRA, the issue on artificial sweeteners has brought the sugar industry to a momentous unity,”  Laurel said.

The DA and SRA vowed to work on this, as this is an extraneous force affecting the demand for locally produced sugar.

SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said the issue had been raised with local governments, including the provincial government of Negros Occidental, a key sugar-producing region.

“We have brought this issue to the attention of all the stakeholders involved, and after meetings with leaders, I am very happy that everyone has come together for this common cause,” Azcona said. 

“It is probably one of the few times the stakeholders have one common stand, and the SRA will surely take action.”

For the DA and SRA, the manifesto signals mounting pressure to balance consumer trends, food manufacturing needs, and the sustainability of the domestic sugar industry—placing sugar substitutes squarely on the government’s agricultural policy agenda. Sugar Regulatory Office