SURPRISINGLY, our economic managers are awfully silent over the issue of whether to import sugar, particularly the volume that we need to address the supply gap. The shortage has resulted in soaring prices of sugar, particularly refined sugar, and the partial and total temporary closure of soft drink companies and food processors due to unavailability of refined or industrial grade sugar. This is happening despite claims of our authorities that there is no supply shortage and if there is, it is just an 'artificial shortage,' which they attribute to the hoarding activities by a few unscrupulous traders.

Yet, the claim doesn't make sense because the simple law of economics reminds us that when smuggling and hoarding proliferate and become lucrative ventures despite the threats of a hefty fine and incarceration, these are already foolproof evidence of the existence of a serious supply shortage. Lately, the administration seems to have grudgingly accepted that the sugar supply shortage is for real as the President approved the importation of 150,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar to address the problem.