THE local sugar industry said it welcomes the move of the Coca-Cola Co.’s US unit to take over the company’s bottling operation in the Philippines from its Mexican majority owners.

The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) and the Confederation of Sugar Producers, the biggest sugar group in the Philippines, in a statement said the 51-percent ownership held by Coca-Cola Femsa of the local bottling unit of Atlanta-based Coca-Cola’s Bottling Investments Group may augur well for the local industry.

“This will be guarded optimism. We hope there will be more transparency and collaboration between Coke and the sugar industry,” said SRA Board Member Dino Yulo, who also represents the planters group.

“We are very happy with this development. This will definitely mend the rift between the sugar producers and Coke under Femsa,” said Francis de la Rama, national president of Sugar Confederation.

De la Rama said the maker of Coke, Sprite and Sarsi softdrinks has indicated they are ready to send a technical working group to sit down with sugar producers on how best they can resolve the sugar-supply needs of the beverage company.

“We are ready to get down on it as soon as possible,” he said.

The first phase of the tax-reform package of the Duterte administration in January this year saw prices of sugary drinks rise as a result of new taxes slapped.

There have been shortages of the Coke products mostly in fastfood outlets due to supply issues relating to sugar. This exacerbated the Coca-Cola Femsa’s operations in the Philippines after it also conducted a mass layoff of its workers in February, just a month after the new taxes took effect.

No local Coca-Cola officials were available for comment over the weekend, but an official said they were asked to refer all inquiries to Femsa Mexico “to keep answers at board level.”

Coca-Cola Femsa’s board voted to exercise its option to sell its 51-percent stake in Coca-Cola Philippines, which has about 15,000 employees and 19 bottling plants, back to Atlanta’s Coca-Cola Co.

The local bottling company’s operation in the Philippines has always been colorful.

San Miguel Brewery Inc. was the first to bring Coke products into the country in 1927. In the 1980s the conglomerate spun off its softdrink business to become The Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc., a joint venture between San Miguel Corp. and Atlanta’s Coca-Cola Co.

In 1997 San Miguel exchanged its stake in Coca-Cola bottlers to Australia’s Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. in exchange for a 25-percent stake in the Australian company. The local conglomerate later on sold all of its holdings in Amatil.

In 2001 San Miguel with the Coca-Cola Co. joined forces to reacquire Coca-Cola Bottlers from the Australian company, with the local conglomerate having a 65-percent stake.

In 2007 the US company bought out all of the stake of San Miguel in the local bottling unit and then sold 51 percent of it to Coca-Cola Femsa SA, the world’s second-largest bottler of the product, in 2012.

“The Coca-Cola Co. has been operating in the Philippines for more than 100 years, and we know that long-term, sustainable success is built on strong fundamentals,” Winn Everhart, president and general manager of the Philippines for the Coca-Cola Co., said in a statement.

“In every market’s evolution, there will be ups and downs. We are confident both in the opportunities we have ahead and in the plans we have in place for the Philippines. With the Bottling Investments Group’s depth of experience and solid track record in Southeast Asia, we believe they will bring significant value to our business,” he said.