Manila, May 29 -- The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) on Thursday assured close monitoring to contain the red-striped soft-scale insects (RSSI) infestation in Negros Occidental.

The RSSI, which was initially recorded in Luzon in 2023, poses a potential reduction of sugar content by almost 50 percent.

In an interview, SRA Administrator Luis Pablo Azcona said there are "favorable" responses from the Department of Agriculture (DA) to help mitigate the situation.

"Tinutulungan ng DA ang SRA, nagtulungan din po kami ng DA-NIR [Negros Island Region]. So, mabilis po iyong reaction natin (The DA is helping the SRA, we are also working with the DA-NIR. So, we have a fast reaction)," he said.

He, however, noted that there's a containment ...