Please Explain the Sugar Shortage

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vermontmark

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Aug 23, 2022
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Can anyone tell my why there is zero white sugar in the stores, and brown sugar is being sold in limited quantities? I especially don't understand since the DR is a sugar producer!
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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The DR is a sugar producer, but most of the sugar produced from Dominican sugar cane are not for Dominicans, but rather Americans. Keep in mind that the only reason the modern sugar industry began to be developed at the end of the 1870's was to supply the USA with sugar and most of the creator of the sugar plantations were Americans and American citizens. If it wasn't for the USA, a small fraction of Dominican territory would be covered in sugar cane plantations.

The DR needs to comply first and foremost with the sugar quota it has with the United States where all national sugar production needs to go to satisfy that quota first before it can be geared towards satisfying the Dominican market. If Dominican sugar production for a given year is less than the quota amount, then 100% of all Dominican sugar produced is exported to the USA and then Dominican sugar producers have to import sugar, usually from Brazil, to cover the missing part between the nationally produced sugar and the quota, and then import some more to cover the Dominican market.

The biggest profits are made satisfying the sugar quota with the USA as the Americans have agreed to pay much higher than the world's price for sugar.

The fact that you see many sugar plantations in the DR, particularly in the east, around Puerto Plata, near Baní and near Barahona doesn't mean that is for the Dominicans. The vast majority isn't and when local sugar production is lower thsn usually usualky due to things such as a drought, all of the sugar that comes out of those sugsr canes is not for the Dominicans.

Practically, 100% of sugar exported from the DR goes to the United States and that has been the case since the modern sugar industry was created in the late 1870's.
 
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AlterEgo

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I don’t think I’ve ever seen white sugar in DR, I know my inlaws won’t use it at all. I buy the light brown bagged sugar.
 
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keepcoming

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May 25, 2011
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I have seen it, my MIL used to use it when baking cakes, but that has been awhile. I will remember next time I am in Sirena or Carrefour to look.
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
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Can anyone tell my why there is zero white sugar in the stores, and brown sugar is being sold in limited quantities? I especially don't understand since the DR is a sugar producer!
Same here in Santiago at La Sirena (Two weeks ago since I was there).
 

Jan

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Jan 3, 2002
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Last time I did grocery shopping, about 10 days ago, the shelves were full of both sugars at Aprecio in Villa Duarte. I didn't notice any shortage.

I use white sugar for cakes and the crema for everything else. 5 pounds of azúcar crema usually lasts for a few months and last time I bought 5 pounds of white was maybe 6 months ago.
 

BermudaRum

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Oct 9, 2007
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I thought 5 days ago this was a mistake in the translation....

 

johne

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Jun 28, 2003
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LOL...early on I asked my wife--where is the sugar? Answer right in front of your nose on the first shelve. Whoops.:cool:. Never had white sugar since that day.
 

El Hijo de Manolo

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Dec 10, 2021
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen white sugar in DR, I know my inlaws won’t use it at all. I buy the light brown bagged sugar.
Strange, white sugar is everywhere. It's also the sugar of choice for the handmade juices sold at various establishments, as it dissolves better in cold water
 

El Hijo de Manolo

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Dec 10, 2021
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Strange, white sugar is everywhere. It's also the sugar of choice for the handmade juices sold at various establishments, as it dissolves better in cold water
Fact checking my own post, I seem to have that reversed. Brown tends to dissolve faster than white. However, I only ever see them making the homemade juices with white in the streets.
 

AlterEgo

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Fact checking my own post, I seem to have that reversed. Brown tends to dissolve faster than white. However, I only ever see them making the homemade juices with white in the streets.

I’ve never seen street juices made. I meant in supermarkets. You mean the syrups they use for yun-yun?

I mostly shop at Sirena, and in San Cristobal I see the cream/light brown sugar. Sometimes I throw a 5 lb bag of Domino in a tanque, I honestly don’t see a difference. We use Splenda in our espresso.
 

El Hijo de Manolo

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Dec 10, 2021
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I’ve never seen street juices made. I meant in supermarkets. You mean the syrups they use for yun-yun?

I mostly shop at Sirena, and in San Cristobal I see the cream/light brown sugar. Sometimes I throw a 5 lb bag of Domino in a tanque, I honestly don’t see a difference. We use Splenda in our espresso.
I've been using Splenda for years now also. By juices I mean whatever comedor or parada or stand selling fresh squeezed juices like lime, chinola tamarind etc. I've only ever seen them using white sugar to make that juice.
 
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Farmer

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Dec 2, 2003
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Well I ain't gonna fight you over your disdain for climate change but both of the articles mentioned extreme weather events and specific to the DR were Hurricane Fiona and later drought conditions. Maybe you'll compromise with the word weather as it's a temporary term. Regardless, we have noticed the white sugar shortage in Santiago stores. We consume the light brown sugar for the difference in taste but we buy white sugar for our hummingbird feeders. We were surprised at the decrease in activity when we switched to brown sugar. Found some white sugar at Sirena the other day and we did another thing mentioned in the article as a cause for the shortage and that was to hoard it.
 
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