PM Clarifies Removal of Price Controls on Retail Sugar

Prime Minister John Briceño has defended the removal of price controls on retail sugar, insisting that sugarcane farmers will continue to benefit from local market sales.

Speaking to reporters, Briceño explained that bulk sugar sold in standard bags remains under price control. What is no longer controlled are the smaller, labeled packages, such as one‑pound and five‑pound bags, which can now be packaged and sold by any company or individual.

“That is open to anybody that would want to be able to package. Santander can do it. If you want to go and buy the sugar by the sack and want to package it, that’s up to you,” Briceño said.

He noted that Santander, which currently cannot sell sugar locally, would have to prepackage BSI sugar if it wished to enter the retail market. The company has also requested permission to sell its own refined sugar domestically, a matter Briceño said is still under discussion.

Asked whether the change was designed to ensure cane farmers benefit, Briceño insisted that they already do. “Whenever we sell sugar on the local market, the cañeros benefit one way or the other,” he said. He explained that BSI buys sugar from farmers and then packages it, creating an additional business stream.