GUYSUCO survey finds Berbice sugar price not abnormal

Jul 05, 2008 News

– residents still complaining about high prices
A Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) survey conducted last week between New Amsterdam and Corentyne has found that the price for sugar in Berbice is not above the normal price.
However, this survey has differed from what the residents in those areas are saying.
Kaieteur News spoke with some residents from the area yesterday, and they complained that they pay between $90 and $100 per pound for sugar.
Director for Marketing and Trade at GUYSUCO, Lisa Surujbally, has said that another survey will be conducted among all buyers some time next week.
She said that quotas will be closely looked at and an assessment will be done.
Over the past months, residents in Berbice have been paying an increased price for the commodity, following the revelation of the smuggling of sugar to Suriname and Trinidad.
Some retailers had reasoned that the increased cost for the commodity had to do with a shortage of sugar in the region.
However, this was denied by GUYSUCO, which had noted that the company has more than enough sugar to supply the Berbice market. The company called on consumers not to pay more than the normal price for the commodity.
Mrs. Surujbally said that the constant reporting of the issue has created panic within the marketplace.
She explained that since the matter appeared in the press, GUYSUCO has had to deal with a disruptive market, as persons believe that there is a sugar shortage and keep hogging the company down for sugar.
Surujbally re-emphasized that there is no shortage of the commodity, but it is those unscrupulous retailers who raise the price, and those wholesalers who hoard the commodity.
She said that, as it is right now, the factory price for sugar has not changed, and GUYSUCO has adequate supplies.
She also noted that the new crop will commence within the next two weeks.
As a result of the alleged shortage, the Ministry of Agriculture, through the New Guyana Marketing Corporation, had started a distribution process of the commodity in the Berbice area, affording residents opportunity to purchase sugar at a cheaper price.
Geddes Grant is also assisting in this process.
The company yesterday conducted a distribution exercise in Albion, and Kaieteur News understands that, of the 200 bags of sugar made available for purchase, only 30 bags were sold.
Accordingly, Surujbally says, this clearly indicates that persons have sugar in their homes, and there is no shortage.
She expressed hope that the situation will soon settle down.
Meanwhile, as it relates to the smuggling of the commodity to Suriname and Trinidad, the Agriculture Ministry has written to the Customs and Trade Administration on the matter.
It is still not clear if anyone has been apprehended in the alleged smuggling ring of the commodity.

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GUYSUCO survey finds Berbice sugar price not abnormal

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