Trade Minister tackles sugar shortage

Ministry officials told Newsday that the meeting with the SMCL had been scheduled long in advance, but its importance has now increased given recent events. Valley has been meeting with local manufacturers who use sugar in several areas of their operations to address their concerns.

Representation which Valley made on the manufacturers’ behalf to Cabinet resulted in a decision by Government to allow the importation of 10,000 tonnes of duty-free sugar until December 31 by the SMCL.

Officials said Guyana is one of the SMCL’s main sources of sugar, but recent troubles in Guyana’s sugar industry due to flooding have hampered sugar imports from that country. They added that Valley will discuss problems currently being encountered by the manufacturers with SMCL with a view to finding a resolution to the matter.

Meanwhile, the Opposition UNC and Barataria/San Juan MP Dr Fuad Khan slammed the SMCL and the Government for the current situation. The UNC yesterday charged that the inability of the Sugar Manufacturing Company Ltd (SMCL) to meet the sugar quotas of various local manufacturers "is a direct impact of the lack of planning and foresight that underpinned the closure of Caroni (1975) Ltd.

Claiming that the situation has caused some companies to halt or scale down operations, the Opposition said it was very concerned about the implications this could have in terms of job losses and the ability of manufacturers to meet the demands of local and foreign customers.

The UNC warned that these companies could see their "hard-earned gains reversed."

The Opposition also accused Government of "extreme PNM public relations gimmickry" in the distribution of agricultural lands to former Caroni workers, saying those two-acre plots "are insufficient for the development of serious agriculture."

The UNC reminded Government that its role is "to create an environment that facilitates rather than frustrates commercial activity." Independent UNC MP for Barataria/San Juan, Dr Fuad Khan, also criticised the SMCL for the current sugar shortage. Khan called on both the SMCL and the Government to ensure that "this level of mediocrity and incompetence will never be repeated." "Someone should be held accountable and disciplined," he said.