Wednesday September 2, 2009

TEMERLOH: More than 580 tonnes of sugar has been distributed in Temerloh, Maran and Bera over the past month to overcome a shortage of the commodity in the three Pahang districts.

Head of the Temerloh enforcement unit of the Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Ministry, Othman Din, said the sugar was distributed to seven wholesalers and 5,000 traders.

“This morning, 90 tonnes of sugar was distributed to the wholesalers and traders.

“The supply should be adequate if people do not resort to panic-buying,” he said.

Othman said that many supermarkets and shops in the districts were restricting the sale of sugar to two kilogrammes per customer.

He also said that there was adequate supply of other foodstuff, such as flour, rice, onions, milk and butter for the festive season.

In KOTA KINABALU, State Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun said sugar supply in the state was sufficient.

She said that enough sugar has arrived in the state and there was no necessity for anyone to panic.

“More supplies will be coming in later this week,” she added.

However, she advised consumers to be prudent when using sugar, adding that there would be more than enough sugar stock for the coming Hari Raya celebrations.

Many areas in Sabah reported a shortage of sugar over the past few weeks and some people have accused traders of hoarding the commodity.

This resulted in Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman warning traders not to hoard sugar.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/9/2/nation/4635760&sec=nation