Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte has urged the agencies concerned to purposely mount a big push to develop the country's production of muscovado sugar, also known as "the poor man's sugar," so that Filipino growers can tap the rapidly growing global market for the commodity.

"The world

Villafuerte said muscovado sugar has numerous applications. Apart from being used as breakfast cereal sweetener, he said muscovado is increasingly being used to add greater flavor to coffee, espresso or tea.

"If we can, for instance, get to supply Starbucks Corp.'s planned 40,000 stores worldwide in a few years with their muscovado requirements, this alone would be huge for the country," he said.

Villafuerte said the rich caramel flavor of muscovado is also ideal for caramelized corn, rum cakes, flans and puddings, treacle biscuits, soft-centered and licorice candies, mincemeat, baked beans, pancake syrups and other full-flavored food and savory recipes.

Extracted from sugarcane via a chemical-free process, Villafuerte said muscovado is regarded worldwide as the healthier sweetener. "In fact, muscovado contains more milligrams of calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium and sodium. Only scant traces of these nutrients are found in granulated white sugar," he said.

He also pointed out that muscovado does not contain "potentially harmful" chemicals used in white sugar processing, such as phosphoric acid, formic acid, sulfur dioxide, preservatives, flocculants, surfactants or bleaching agents or viscosity modifiers.

"This is why muscovado is in great demand in the United States, Japan and European countries with aging populations, and where more consumers are becoming more health conscious," he added.

While the Philippines remains a preferred global supplier of muscovado, Villafuerte said only 10 percent of the countrys annual production of the commodity are actually exported.

"We have to build up our competitiveness in the world market through forward planning and the expansion of production areas, particularly for organically grown sugarcane," he said.

He also stressed the need for producers to upgrade processing technologies and packaging standards. "This is necessary not only to increase juice recovery, but also to improve overall product quality and prevent contamination. Processing should be under rigorous quality and sanitation controls that conform to international standards," he said.

In House Resolution 816, Villafuerte urged the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Science and Technology to review the state of the muscovado industry and to recommend the possible:

Expansion of plantations that may be devoted to muscovado production;

Rehabilitation and modernization of muscovado mills and/or the introduction of new food grade technologies; and,

Technical, credit, research and marketing support for producers and traders exporting, or seeking to export muscovado and its byproducts.