'Tino' batters sugar sector

Visayas, home to the country 's top sugar producers, racked up more than P1 billion in losses in the sugar industry following the devastating impact of Typhoon Tino (international name: Kalmaegi) last week.

- By DERCO ROSASL

Based on the partial assessment of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) as of Nov. 14, the typhoon has inflicted an estimated P1.2 billion of damage to the region’s sugar industry.

Over 16,000 sugar farmers were affected by the storm, covering 53,000 hectares (ha) in the mill districts of Negros Island, Capiz, Iloilo, Leyte, and Cebu.

According to SRA, the hardest hit were the sugar farms in BISCOM mill district covering Himamaylan City and the towns of Isabela, Binalbagan, Hinigaran and Moises Padilla, with over 20,000 ha severely damaged.

SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said Typhoon Tino was among the most devastating storm experienced by the sugar industry in the past two decades.