According to media report on May 13, the president of the Philippine Sugar Producers Association, Manuel Lamata, said that the Philippines needs to import 200,000 tons of sugar to prevent supply shortages, as sugar plantations in the main producing region of Montenegro have been severely damaged by El Nino.

Lamata said many sugarcane plants have been unable to recover due to drought and will need to be replanted once it starts to rain, which will delay sugar production in factories and lead to shortages in local supplies. In addition, Lamata asked the Negros provincial government to procure aircraft for use in cloud-seeding operations because the province's main revenue comes from agriculture.