Crop failure in Guyana, Belize blamed

Apologising to local manufacturers for the late arrival of the sugar, Nandlal said the situation was beyond the control of SMCL, which had to source sugar from other countries because of the failure of the sugar crops in Belize and Guyana. Those two countries are Trinidad’s main suppliers of sugar.

In a release from SMCL, Chief Executive Officer Andre Gayadeen said SMCL expects delivery of approximately 424 metric tonnes of refined sugar by next Tuesday (September 13). Another 824 metric tonnes would arrive on September 20. Thereafter, the release stated, 9,000 metric tonnes are to be imported by October 10.

Nandlal said that the shortage was predictable with the failure of the sugar cane crops in Guyana and Belize. He said SMCL had already communicated the company’s predicament to manufacturers. "We let them (manufacturers) know the exact dates that the shipment was coming," Nandlal said, "and sometimes we got the wrong information from the shippers." Speaking to Newsday after a meeting of sugar industry stakeholders at Usine Ste Madeleine Club, Nandlal said: "There were diversions of the vessels that were bringing our refined sugar. They went to ports other than TT and we had this delay. In fact, right now this last shipment is in Kingston and that is why it is not here. We are talking about containers of sugar approximately 1,000 metric tonnes held up in Jamaica."

The SMCL’s president explained that the company did not have control over the routes which the suppliers select to ship its product. "The container lines we have no control over because it is the supplier that selects the container lines. If the container lines have to go to Santo Domingo or another country for consolidation or they feel that there is a delay in TT at the port, they divert their cargo. One of the reasons that we are short in supply is because of those two major diversions. That is not an excuse that we are giving, but those are things out of our control," Nandal said.

In a press release yesterday, the SMCL stated that imports of raw sugar from Guyana and Belize usually arrive within two to three days. The release explained that due to failure of the sugar crops in Guyana and Belize, SMCL was forced to source other suppliers for refined sugar. Orders were placed with suppliers in Colombia and Brazil for more than 12,000 metric tonnes of refined sugar, which equates to approximately three months of supply.