This is a good option for the government to consider since it would be "hitting-two birds-in-one-stone scenario. One, this would help to stabilize local prices (as foreseen by DA). Two, to remedy surplus production (as much as 2.3 million MT). In addition to this, as exports (esp. agricultural products) increases, GDP increases. As you can see, it's a win-win scenario.

A little review here regarding "Law of Supply and Demand": As supply (of product/services) increases, demand decreases. Eventually, price of the product/service will go down. Therefore, the producer/company's profit will shrivel.

EXCERPT FROM THE NEWS: "To correct the situation, GMA issued Executive Order 293 directing the National Food Authority to absorb the excess sugar supply and prop up the slumping prices. The NFA targetede to buy 1.4 million bags of sugar at P700 a bag from sugar mills without refineries and P720 a bag from sugar mills with refineries."

RP has already exported sugar to South Korea, Japan, China and the United States.
Note:

The link is currently unavailable (www.manilatimes.net/others/archives.html). You may want to read the complete info at The Manila Times (Business), page B2, July 8, 2004, entitled RP must export sugar to stabilize local prices - DA

This seems to apply more to the situation of the country who will be importing sugar from the Philippines. We will be sending it out and not bringing more in.

That's good for sugar prices in the importing country, of course -- provided she allows imported sugar to enter. Some countries impose very high tariffs on sugar, but as far as I know it's not the ones you've mentioned so there is market potential there

CAVEAT: Assuming we do get to export sugar abroad, we have to take care that we do not decrease the domestic supply of sugar (by exporting too much) such that consumer prices here of sugar go up. (There's your Law of Supply and Demand as it applies to the Philippine side of the case.) We have to find the medium between stable, affordable prices for our consumers and satisfactory domestic profits for the sugar producers.

Added info: the reason why we aren't exporting sugar is because of global market conditions. Prices are low and sugar from other countries, e.g., Vietnam and Thailand, sells at a lower price than ours. (Kaya mataas ang tariffs nila on sugar, because it's domestically produced.) So not only do Philippine sugar producers not want to export because they might incur losses or not make as much profit as they do by selling domestically, they are also losing out to their competitors.

Again, I am all for the Philippines exporting sugar, but there are certain conditions that prevent us from doing so. Sugar producers must figure out how to make their product competitive vis-a-vis the rest of the world so that they are encouraged to export.