Joseph’s statements were made as the country currently faces a shortage of the valuable commodity as regional suppliers are unable to meet demand.

The CAD Director says there is no truth to such a statement.

“No, there is no truth to that. There is no truth to Saint Lucia not being able to afford more than two containers,” she said.

Joseph made these comments during one of the UWP’s routine press conferences on January 30th, 2024. He said he obtained his information from a reliable source.

“My information is they can only afford to buy two containers of sugar at a time. Just look at the economic impact. Some of the canned drinks are so expensive, that parents cannot buy them for their children anymore. But they can even get sugar to squeeze a couple of oranges and limes to make a bottle of juice to give their children to go to school,” Joseph lamented.

In response, Frederick says sugar shortages have been experienced all across the OECS, noting that the latest shipment the island received was not enough. She adds that another shipment is en route to Saint Lucia.

“This as I said is not unique to Saint Lucia. It's something that was experienced with others, regionally. So receiving the shipment we really appreciated it. It was not as much as we would have liked. However, we will be receiving a shipment this week.”

Currently, Saint Lucia imports its sugar from Guyana but poor crop yields, labour shortages, and global shipment woes have plagued the movement of goods across the world.