Accelerating purchases of imported sugar into the Philippines were an exception. Most other highly populated Asian countries, including Japan (down -49.8%) and Taiwan (down -38.2%). Globally, imported shipments of sugar shrank in value by -28.2% to $41.5 billion in 2015 from $57.8 billion five years earlier.
In stark contrast, global sugar exports shipped from the Philippines fell dramatically by 89% from $448.2 billion in 2011 to $49.5 million during 2015.
The 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for sugars and sugar confectionery is 17.
Philippines Imports of Sugar and Sugar Confectionery
Sugar Types
When it comes to import demand in the Philippines during 2015, below are the most popular types of imported sugars by category.
- Solid-form sugars, fructose, glucose, lactose: US$216.4 million (70% of all Filipino sugar imports)
- Sugar confectionery (no cocoa): $56.3 million (18.2%)
- Sugar (cane or beet): $19.4 million (6.3%)
- Molasses (from sugar extraction or refining): $17.3 million (5.6%)
Molasses (from sugar extraction or refining) is the fastest-growing type of imported sugar into the Philippines, up 601.4% from $2.5 million in 2011. Also increasing in value over the 5-year period was sugar confectionery without cocoa posting an 80.9% improvement. The most popular category, solid-form sugars including fructose, glucose and lactose appreciated by 23.1%.
Purchases of imported cane or beet sugar declined by -36.9% from 2011 to 2015.
Top 15 Suppliers
Below are the top 15 sugar suppliers to the Philippines during 2015:
- China: US$146.5 million (47.4% of Filipino sugar imports)
- South Korea: $33.9 million (11%)
- Indonesia: $31.6 million (10.2%)
- United States: $28.9 million (9.3%)
- Thailand: $25 million (8.1%)
- Vietnam: $11.4 million (3.7%)
- France: $7.7 million (2.5%)
- Malaysia: $4 million (1.3%)
- Belgium: $2.9 million (0.9%)
- Switzerland: $2.8 million (0.9%)
- India: $2.4 million (0.8%)
- Lithuania: $2.2 million (0.7%)
- Netherlands: $1.8 million (0.6%)
- Singapore: $1.55 million (0.5%)
- Germany: $1.4 million (0.4%)
The listed 15 countries exported 98.2% of all sugar imports into the Philippines during 2015.
Among the above countries, the fastest-increasing sugar suppliers to the Philippines since 2011 were led by: Lithuania (up 7,386%), India (up 3,270%), Switzerland (up 2,274%) and Indonesia (up 221.8%).
Those countries that cut back on their sugar shipments to the Philippines the most were: United States (down -61.2%), France (down -50.2%), Germany (down -43.7%) and the Netherlands (down -36.2%).
Resources
The World Factbook, Field Listing: Agriculture – Products (including sugar beets and sugar cane listed by country supplier, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on August 31, 2016
Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on August 31, 2016
Wikipedia, Sugar. Accessed on August 31, 2016