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City supermarkets run low on sugar
THE shortage of Ramu sugar is now being
felt in Port Moresby.
Shoppers this week noticed that shelves for sugar products were almost
empty while some major supermarkets had only the one-kilogramme sugar
packs.
In an interview, the manager of major retail supermarket Stop ‘N’ Shop
said the short supply of sugar was the result of a delayed shipment from
Lae.
Another major supermarket chain TST said its sugar stock was low and it
was also waiting for the next shipment.
Both stores said they received the last delivery in late January.
Boroko Foodworld said Ramu Sugar has been able to keep them supplied
with most sizes of sugar packs .
However, the store has requested customers to get only a kilo of sugar
each.
RSL chief financial officer David Alderdice said last month the short
supply of sugar was the result of a disease called Ratoon Stuntind
disease that caused sugar canes to stop growing during its normal growth
cycle.
Mr Alderdice said the harvest that ended last September was 25% less
than budgeted as RSL produced only 362,000 tonnes of cane compared to
the projected 482,000 tonnes.
“The reduced production of sugar cane meant RSL did not have sufficient
stocks to meet domestic demand until next production,” Mr Alderdice
said.
He said the next harvest will be in April, and in the meantime, RSL has
ordered similar quality sugar from Thailand to meet the shortfall.
Meanwhile, RSL has started work to eradicate the sugarcane disease.
The company yesterday said it would breed disease-resistant sugarcane
varieties as well as work with the National Agriculture Quarantine and
Inspection Authority (NAQIA) to carry out public awareness on the
disease.
“This disease is still our number one quarantine problem,” RSL’s
principal scientist Dr Lastus Kuniata said yesterday.
He said the company will be importing smut-resistant sugarcane varieties
next month from a research institution in France for breeding and
selection under Ramu cropping condition.
“Although this programme will take 10 to 15 years to come up with
resistant varieties, it is important to start now,” Dr Kuniata said.
Last November when the alarm was raised on the disease, Dr Kuniata told
a seminar that quarantine measures were urgently needed to stop the
spread of the sugarcane disease.
He said quarantine inspections must be carried out at all ports on
clothing and equipment coming into the country.
Dr Kuniata said RSL wants to minimise the chance for the disease to be
introduced in the country and minimise the potential devastating impact
on commercial sugarcane production.
Ramu will also develop an incursion response plan for the sugarcane smut
disease.
Dr Kuniata said RSL is working with NAQIA to produce information,
educational and communication materials on the disease for distribution
to the public.
He said he would be visiting Daru and Vanimo in the next two months to
carry out surveys of sugarcane crops to determine the presence of this
disease in these areas.
“I hope I don’t see it there,” Dr Kuniata said.
 
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