Manila says 2010/11 sugar output could exceed 2mn T

MANILA: The Philippines' raw sugar output in the crop year to end August could top 2 million tonnes, about 1.8 percent higher than an earlier estimate, the head of the industry's regulator said on Friday.

The country has received formal notice from the United States of a 60,000 tonne increase in its export quota this year, and would be able to fulfil it, Regina Bautista-Martin, chief of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), told Reuters.

However, declining world prices were discouraging exports to other countries, she said.

The production forecast is now "about 2 million tonnes", and could be higher after a review in two months, from a December forecast of 1.965 million tonnes, she said.