LABUAN: Consumers and traders on this duty-free island have been reminded of a worsening sugar shortage, as the local division of the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry struggles to quietly control the possible surging prices.
Division director Junaidah Arbain said the sugar stock on the island was experiencing a severe shortage due to the late shipment and lack of supply to meet domestic demands.
She said wholesalers on the island were constantly trying to bring in maximum volume to meet domestic demands, yet often received below the required quantity, Bernama reported.
She said the ministry had approved nine wholesalers here to import sugar from two main suppliers in the peninsula, namely the Central Sugars Refinery (CSR) Shah Alam, Selangor, and the Malayan Sugar Refinery (MSM) Perlis and Johor.
Labuan, Malaysia’s international business and financial centre (IBFC) had been experiencing a sugar supply shortage since last year, with traders, supermarkets and hypermarkets being reminded to control the sale of sugar.
Junaidah said Labuan needed at least 120 tonnes of sugar every month for its estimated 110,000 population, but the monthly supply received from the two suppliers was insufficient, and imports were also delayed by the late shipment, exacerbating the supply crunch.
“To counter the impact of the severe shortage, we are allowing wholesalers from mainland Sabah to meet the rising domestic demand.”
At the same time, she also reminded consumers to avoid panic buying of the commodity and traders not to resort to hoarding the supply.