KOTA BARU – With the recent month of Ramadan and Aidilfitri festive season, demand for essential items including sugar has been high, especially from consumers here.
Ainy Md Yunos, 71, from Pengkalan Chepa said she had run out of sugar and had been looking for it in several grocery stores for the past three days but to no avail.
“I have to replace sugar in cooking and drinks with Stevia (a natural sweetener) until the supply of sugar is obtained,” she said today.
Satay seller, Siti Aminah Awang, 65, from Kg Baung said she needed more than 20kg of sugar a day to produce about 2,000 sticks of satay.
“The shortage of sugar supply to some extent interferes with business, considering that sugar is one of the main ingredients in dishes and drinks,” she said.
Meanwhile, a grocery store operator, Sepiah Ismail, 64 of Kg Landak said sugar at her store had been sold out two days ago, adding that she is trying to obtain 240kg of sugar which she normally purchases from suppliers in the district.
Meanwhile, the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry’s Kelantan director, Azman Ismail, when contacted said it had distributed 250,000kg of sugar today to several supermarkets in the state.
“This supply (of sugar) will be distributed in stages including to wholesalers and retailers from time to time. We expect the sugar shortage problem to be completely resolved within two days,” he added. – Bernama, May 1, 2023
