Hoy newspaper says that sugar producers in the DR will enjoy a RD$50 million windfall of profits thanks to Resolution 209 of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. The government department resurrected the Price Control Department and set a new ceiling for sugar price sales, that will guarantee producers higher profits on sugar in stock by the producers. Fermin Troncoso, secretary general of the Cadena de Detallistas del Distrito Nacional and Agustin Peñalo, spokesman for the Federacion Dominicana de Detallistas de Provisiones said that the decision affects nine million consumers while benefiting producers. The measure was also objected by the Consejo Nacional de la Empresa Privada, the leading national business organization as being a step backward. Business sectors advocate open markets as the best way to keep prices under check.
