BY
SANDRA CHOUTI
The president of the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’
Association (TTMA) Paul Quesnel said he does not expect
the end of sugar production in T&T to greatly affect
the local market.
That’s because the country has for a long time been
importing sugar for local consumption.
Locally produced sugar has had to be exported to the European
Union to satisfy this country’s export quota under
the terms of the Lome Convention
The Convention is an international aid and trade agreement
between the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP)
group and the European Union aimed at supporting the efforts
of the “ACP states” to achieve comprehensive,
self-reliant and self-sustained development.
The TTMA’s CEO Natasha Mustapha agreed with Quesnel.
She said the end of sugar production later this year should
not directly affect its members as much as it will the farmers
and those employed in the sugar cane industry.
The Sugar Manuyfacturing Company Limited imports the sugar
required by TTMA members, earning a small commission for
itself in the process.
SMCL
purchases sugar and sells it to us,” Mustapha said.
“We don’t get preferential pricing. Almost everybody
in the food and beverage industry uses a small quantity
of sugar. SM Jaleel is the largest user of sugar,”
she said.
A smaller quantity is used by one construction company in
the manufacture of concrete products and by the pharmaceutical
industry, namely Genethics Pharmaceuticals Ltd, which adds
it to syrups and the like.
Genethics’ director and a former TTMA president Anthony
Aboud said his company buys about three to four metric tonnes
of sugar a month from SMCL.
It
does not make sense for me to be a direct importer. The
TTMA has collectively negotiated a price from SMCL that
is more competitive than if you go and buy it off the shelf,”
the businessman said.
He observed that the local sugar industry was ending for
the same reason as the authorities in St Kitts had decided
to end that island’s sugar cultivation: it was not
competitive.
It’s
not a competitive industry when compared to countries like
Brazil where you can get sugar at a price better than what
you can get it for here,” Aboud said.
However, Quesnel said the price at which SMCL has been selling
sugar to manufacturers has increased since last November.
A director at Kiss Baking Company Ltd, Quesnel said the
company imports an average of 20,000 metric tonnes of sugar
annually to make its cakes and breads.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry last year gave approval
to manufacturers to import 60,000 metric tonnes of refined
sugar.
Wayne Punnette, the ministry’s director of trade, said
before October 2006, the Sugar Manufacturing Company Ltd
(SMCL) was the only entity authorised to import refined
sugar.
Manufacturers
raised the issue that they could get sugar at a more competitive
price and on that basis, government agreed for them to import
sugar,” Punnette said.
The trade ministry official said import licences have been
granted for the next 14 months.
He said most of the small manufacturers would not import
sugar on an individual basis as it’s not worth their
while to bring in a few hundred pounds.
He said it makes more economic sense for the Solos and the
SM Jaleels to import sugar directly and price is the determining
factor.
The
more popular sources have been Brazil, Colombia and Guatemala.
Wherever they can get a good price and the quality is acceptable,”
Punnette said.
He said scheduling problems have prevented Guyana from supplying
Trinidad with large amounts of raw sugar.
The
problem is that Guyana and Belize can only provide raw sugar,
but the demand is for refined sugar,” Punnette said.
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