Manila, May 19 -- The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) on Monday said sugar production for crop year 2024-2025 is poised to hit almost five percent higher than the initial estimate despite the effects of drought due to El Nino.

Figures showed that from the earlier forecast of 1.782 million metric tons (MT), sugar output could reach 1.837 million MT.

"We are currently at 1.815 million tons of sugar produced. Despite the low sugar produced per ton of cane, we attribute the production on the increase in sugarcane tonnage per hectare planted," SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said in a statement here.

Azcona noted that the lower initial estimate was based on the health and assessment of the sugarcane after the extreme El Nino.

"We...