SOME 10,000 bags of sweetener have been seized on suspicion that the cargo was misdeclared, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said.
The shipment was declared by importers as “white sweet powder” and is believed to contain 88% sugar and 12% glucose, SRA Administrator Pablo Luis S. Azcona said at a briefing late Tuesday.
The SRA is currently performing laboratory tests on the premixed products.
Mr. Azcona said imports of premixed products that contain more than the allowable sugar content are illegal.
“Anything that has 65% and up (of sugar) is sugar.”
Mr. Azcona said the suspected instance of technical smuggling disrupts the “whole price structure” for sugar and threatens the livelihoods of sugar farmers.
The SRA has yet to issue an import order for this year, he said.
The regulator said in February that it is upgrading its database of importers to clamp down on technical smuggling. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza