Strangely, and not for the first time, here in the land of sugar cane traders are having a difficult time finding sugar and retailers are reporting shortages. And the shortage of this staple product is leading to price increases.

President of the National Federation of Retail Provision Traders (Fenacodep), José Matos has said that they have asked for an explanation from Central Romana. Central Romana is the only producer of refined sugar in the Dominican Republic.

He further says that while Fenocodep has 35,000 registered members they are only receiving 1200 sacks of sugar per week. If they gave one sack a week to each trader it would mean a whopping 33,800 sack shortage.