Commerce Minister Emma Hippolyte has announced that Saint Lucia is seeking alternative sugar suppliers, but there would be a price impact.
The Island had been experiencing a sugar shortage.
Nevertheless, Hippolyte said ten containers of brown sugar arrived last week, plus an additional six this week.
She cited challenges getting the commodity from Saint Lucia’s supplier in Guyana.
However, the Minister said she had written to Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary General Carla Barnett in November to resolve the matter and received a response on February 5.
As a result, the Soufriere MP said Saint Lucia would seek a CARICOM derogation to obtain sugar from outside the region.
In this regard, she observed that negotiating with other suppliers would impact the commodity’s price.
“The key thing that I need to alert persons with, when we get the sugar outside of the contract period, because with our supplier in Guyana we had a one-year contract, and we would have to negotiate with other suppliers and that is going to have an impact on the price,” the Minister noted.
Hippolyte also told reporters one of the main challenges occurs because local manufacturers use white sugar.
” I have also met with the manufacturers, and we have agreed to give them permission to place their own orders,” the Minister said.
Pissing in your eye and calling it rain. What a crock up. No sugar, NO WATER. What about the loan grant program. How come not everybody benefiting?
Isn’t BRAZIL the largest exporter of sugar in South America, why cant you work with Guyana and Brazil to fulfill the shortage ?
I was sick of waiting for white sugar (for baking) so I managed to get 24 bags from Martinique in just one week thanks to a fantastic shipping company. Why can’t the government do the same????????
I getting sugar ee. I am sucking it from the bottom of the hibiscus flower. Miss Emma, say in your speech how I overcame. Doh worry Miss Emma, just give them hibiscus flowers.
I eh missing shooga uh. I not using it a lot. I only use it in joos an I not makin joos at my home. I still have a lot of shooga at my home. I sellin ee!
If incompetence had a name…
What about turning some banana plantations back to sugar plantations.
Limiere, Dennery near the bridge has a historic abandoned sugar factory 🏭 , Government can renovate it.
Emma will go down in history as the Minister of Shortages. From her first stint in Commerce in the Kenny Anthony administration, we were plagued with shortage of flour, rice, sugar, oil, you name it. Bradley was Minister and I can’t recall any shortages. If there were it was short lived. Back comes Granny and sugar, rice, yeast, paperbags and the list goes on. Worse of all the shortage periods last so long.
This is how the GDP grows, income with no expense and starving the people. St. Lucian deserved to have this government it was god sent and vote for them again and stop barking.
Aa, you alive Aunty E. For the longest while you were hiding behind the Director of Commerce.
You and your government should be the ones bearing the cost of the increase because it’s through your incompetence thaat we are going through all this mess.