Malaysia: Government taking immediate action to address the sugar supply issue for the long term

KOTA KINABALU (Dec 21): The government is conducting assessments and taking immediate action to prevent a larger disruption of refined white sugar supplies in the local market leading into next year, said Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Datuk Mohd Armizan Mohd Ali. He said that the assessments and actions are based on reasonable pricing factors and ensuring a stable sugar supply in the market and thus,the government is currently exploring solutions to address the sugar supply issue for the long term. "It is undeniable that the disruption of refined white sugar supplies priced at RM2.85 per kg is due to the increase in the price of raw sugar in the global market. The government only controls the price of refined white sugar at that price without providing subsidies to manufacturers. "Since July, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs [KPDN] has taken the approach of relaxing import permit conditions by allowing anyone to import sugar," he said during a ...