No more sugar shortage

BY the end of the week, most shops in Grenada are expected to be offering both brown and white sugar to customers, as the shipment which was stuck in Trinidad arrived on the island last Friday.

There was a shortage of sugar on the Grenada market and Chief Executive Officer of the Marketing and National Importing Board (MNIB), Ruel Edwards, said this occurred because of the region’s poor transportation system.

The shipment of sugar arrived in the island more than a fortnight late and was immediately transported to major supermarkets and the MNIB outlet on Young Street where customers were quickly purchasing huge amounts, fearful that there will be a second shortage.

“I had none and I happen to be inside MNIB when it came, so I purchase 50 pounds,” said one customer.

The sugar shortage first started with brown sugar about three weeks ago and it was the hope of the MNIB that the white sugar would have filled the void by the time the brown sugar arrived. However, with the shipment stuck in Trinidad, this resulted in both the brown and white sugar becoming scarce.

Among the industries affected by the shortage were bakeries, as pastries and confectioneries that are sugar-based were either in short supply or completely unavailable. Market vendors who sold juice were also unable to meet demands.

The MNIB, according to law, has the sole authority to import sugar for commercial sale in the country. An individual is allowed to go through Immigration or Customs with no more than 10 kilos of sugar for personal use. (LS)