A RANKING official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday defended the DA's move to import additional 64,050 metric tons (MT) of refined sugar as he denied the statement raised by former secretary Leonardo Montemayor that President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. was not fully informed behind the decision to buy more sweeteners using the minimum access volume (MAV).

During the Laging Handa briefing, Agriculture deputy spokesman Rex Estoperez maintained that the decision to import more refined sugar sought to address the increasing retail prices of the sweetener in the country.