NOT SO SWEET

THE price of bread, biscuits, buns, and drinks could come under fresh pressure as Jamaican manufacturers face the prospect of paying more for refined sugar once a new refinery in Belize begins supplying the Caribbean market.

Major food and beverage producers, including Wisynco, Lasco and ice-cream maker Caribbean Cream, have raised concerns that changes to regional import arrangements could make it more expensive to buy the sugar used in products consumed by Jamaicans every day.

Manufacturers fear that once the Belize refinery begins supplying the region, they could lose the duty waivers that allow them to buy refined sugar from outside Caricom at world market prices. They would then have to weigh the Belize supplier’s price against the cost of overseas sugar carrying a 40 per cent import tariff.