MANILA, Philippines - The country's sugar production in the crop year starting September 2010 is expected to be around 1.87 million tons, lower than the estimated 1.97 million tons in the 2009/2010 crop year, a senior government official said on Thursday.

Regina Bautista-Martin, head of the Sugar Regulatory Administration, told reporters she hoped the country would not need to order sugar imports in 2010 and 2011, but couldn't say for sure as the production estimates were very preliminary.