Sugar supplies steady

Following reports that Guyana was halting sugar supplies to its Caricom neighbours, the Ministry of Trade and Industry yesterday advised that measures have been put in place to avoid any shortages of sugar in Trinidad and Tobago (TT).

In a statement yesterday, the Trade Ministry said, “Measures are in place to avoid shortages and ensure that a reliable and affordable supply of sugar is available to both the commercial and consumer markets.”

Last Friday, an Associated Press report, stated that Guyana, TT’s largest supplier of brown sugar, would be abandoning its Caricom market, in order to meet its export quota to Europe.

The issue raised questions of increased sugar prices on the local market, and whether TT would be forced to source the basic commodity from outside the region.

However, the ministry said any concerns of a potential shortage and rise in the price of sugar were speculative.

The ministry also said that, according to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, TT and other Caricom are required to source sugar from Guyana first, “given (its) capacity as the single largest supplier of raw cane sugar in the region.”

If sugar is secured from outside the Caricom market, TT could face the consequence of paying a 40 percent import duty, also known as the common external tariff (CET).

However, the ministry also highlighted the fact that a section in article 83 of the Chaguaramas Treaty permitted TT to import sugar from outside the region duty-free in a case where Guyana is unable to meet the local demand. The ministry also said sugar may be imported from Belize, Brazil, China, Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.

Additionally, the ministry said several local manufacturers have been awarded a ministerial licence to import refined sugar duty free from extra-regional sources if it became necessary for their production needs. TT usually imports most of its raw sugar from Guyana, which is utilised by the Sugar Manufacturing Company Limited (SMCL) for refining into granulated (white) sugar. The rest of that sugar, according to the ministry is then sold to supermarkets, hotels and restaurants as packaged brown sugar.

Yesterday, a representative of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GSC) told Newsday that there was no need for citizens in TT to panic, since a shipment of sugar is due to arrive in the country this weekend.

GSC marketing development manager Roxanne Greenwich said, “We have every intention of meeting all our commitments to all our Caricom neighbours as well as the European Union.”

She explained that an alarm was raised last week when Guyana was unable to supply some of its Caricom neighbours. She said production was set back by a two-day labour strike and excess rainfall and these factors contributed to the late delivery of sugar to some markets.

The rainfall, she said, meant there was a late start to the crop. Greenwich said priority was given to the European Union market last week as one of its vessels had already docked in Guyana to ship a small sugar cargo.

source:newsday