LABUAN: The island is again hit by a sugar shortage with many consumers going without supply since Christmas due to delayed shipments from Port Klang.
A coffeeshop operator said she had to travel to Kota Kinablu to obtain the commodity at RM4.50 per 1kg packs.
“Even this involved additional expenses but there was no choice to keep the business running and pay workers and rental. There were others who did the same or used friends or runners,” she said.
The owner of a mini market Datuk Ramasamy Rengasamy said: “We ordered 10 cartons (17 packs per ctn) but the supplier could only provide four cartons and this was snapped up within hours.
“I feel sad for those running small enterprises. Many had to queue when limited stocks and sale restricted purchases to 1 pack per buyer. Some had to go on a merry-go-round to purchase enough for days.
“Most severely affected were those in the B40 category running small businesses,” he said.
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“I don’t understand why this problem keeps repeating when the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living has a panel to monitor supply of essential goods.
“We hope there will be sufficient sugar for the coming Chinese New Year when demand is likely to be more”
There are three sugar importers in Labuan and the and monthly requirement is about 72 tonnes.
In Sept 2022 Labuan was hit by sugar shortage and during the Covid 19 period when ships avoided Labuan due to SOPs and discharged Labuan sugar at other ports.
