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Blood sugar, also known as glucose is present in our bloodstream.

Glucose is our body's


primary source of energy, produced by digesting the sugar and starch in carbohydrates. The
enzymes and bile in the digestive system breaks down the carbohydrates in these foods into
glucose. The small intestine absorbs glucose into the bloodstream. In the blood stream,
glucose combines with insulin, a hormone excreted by the pancreas, to spread the energy to
perform all physical and mental activities. To find out the normal, high and low glucose levels,
let's take a look at the chart for blood sugar levels.

The normal range for the blood sugar level maintained by the body for its smooth functioning
is at 70 to 150 mg/dL. It is normal for the sugar level to fluctuate throughout the day, glucose
levels are the lowest in the mornings, and mostly tend to rise for a couple of hours after
meals, depending on the volume of carbohydrates consumed. Our body has an excellent
mechanism to regulate normal blood sugar levels, in case of a fall. Extra glucose is stored in
the liver as glycogen, easily reabsorbing itself in the blood stream, when the sugar levels
drop.

Example Case

Kuala Lumpur baker Serene Chin is having trouble keeping her egg tarts sweet. A sugar
shortage prompted her local Tesco Plc hypermarket to impose a 2 kilogram- per-
customer ration, foThis current shortage is really tiresome,” said Chin, who normally buys
48 kilograms at a time for her John King’s bakery. “Sugar is necessary for the people.”

Supplies of the sweetener are scarce in Malaysia because of a global shortage and a
decades-old government price cap that encourages people to smuggle sugar across the
border into Thailand, where it fetches double the price. Almost every vehicle stopped at
the border is carrying controlled-price items like sugar and cooking oil, said Domestic
Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob. Customs has begun 35
investigations, more than twice the number last year.

“If you put a ceiling on local prices, when the difference between global and local prices
widens, it makes no sense to retailers to sell sugar domestically,” said Suhaimi Ilias,
chief economist at Maybank Investment Bank Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur. The government
needs “more flexible price controls.”

Raw sugar futures have doubled this year to a 28-year high, after India, the biggest
consumer, had its driest June in 83 years, reducing domestic supplies, and crops in parts
of Brazil, the largest grower, were wrecked by rainfall four times more than normal.
Malaysia spent 720 million ringgit ($204 million) on sugar subsidies this year, Ismail said.

World Shortage

World demand for sugar will exceed supply by as much as 5 million tons over the next 12
months, the International Sugar Organization estimates.

In Malaysia, the price is set at 1.45 ringgit per kilo, or 1.55 ringgit in the eastern states of
Sabah and Sarawak. In Thailand, the world’s second-biggest exporter, it can fetch as much
as 2.90 ringgit, Ismail said.

Malaysia introduced price controls on essential items in 1974 to ensure food security and
cushion volatility in the commodities markets. To prevent a run on sugar in the shops
during the monthlong peak demand period of Ramadan, which started Aug. 22, retailers
are rationing supplies.

Enforcement agencies have stepped up border checks and wholesalers who are caught
hoarding sugar will be stripped of their licenses and blacklisted, Ismail said. About 10 tons
of sugar have been confiscated from people carrying the sweetener over the Thai border
this year, the Customs Department said. Under the 1967 Customs Act, sugar smugglers
face up to three years in jail or a fine of at least 100,000 ringgit, or both.

Ramadan Fast

In an effort to meet higher demand before Ramadan, when Muslims break their daylong
fast with large meals at dinner, sugar refiners including Malayan Sugar Manufacturing Co.,
a unit of Robert Kuok’S PPB Group, and Central Sugar Refinery Sdn. Bhd. increased
production 20 percent in August to 120,000 tons a month, Ismail said. The state
compensates refiners for selling a set quota of sugar below cost, based on their 2008
sales.

No more than 10 percent of locally made sugar is exported, said domestic trade ministry
Secretary-General Mohd Zain Mohd Dom. Manufacturers are slowing production as the
subsidy for the year is running out, the Star newspaper said, citing Mohd Zain.

“If panic buying continues, no matter how much we load, sugar will run out in the shops,”
said Ismail.

Ministry investigations show the black market price for sugar ranges between 1.50 ringgit
and 1.70 ringgit, he said. The government has offered a reward of up to 10,000 ringgit to
anyone with information on hoarders or smugglers.

Rising sugar prices


Shortage of sugar supplies and escalation of price causing a great impact to
consumers particularly those from the lower income group and to Malaysian market
generally. Moreover, each year the issue over shortage and increase of price of daily
essential items like sugar and flour is likely bound to occur especially in the upcoming
of the festive season creating a drastic demand market from consumers. Possibilities
of this shortage and escalation of prices sourced by the network of distribution which
is being monopolized under the certain groups, whereby an arrangement has been
made towards the sugar price in local market. This is could be due to the work of a
‘cartel’ that controls the country’s sugar industry.

Shortage of supplies
Traditionally, the demand for sugar would surge prior to festive season and during
this time, the SMEs and petty traders need a lot of sugar to meet their production. As
the production of subsidized sugar has a certain quota, definitely an imbalance in the
sugar supply and its shortage is bound to happen. For bulk orders, the SMEs and petty
traders would purchase their sugar supply from the wholesalers or sugar mills but the
price they have to pay is higher than that for subsidized sugar. Furthermore, there is
also a possibility that the sugar suppliers and wholesaler are selling the subsidized
sugar directly to the industries at a price, which is slightly lower than the industrial
price, for a quick profit. Demand And Supply
The shortage of sugar supply is rearing its ugly head in the country again, similar to
what had happened in the past particularly during festive occasion where fasting
month of Ramadhan being just around the corner and Hari Raya occasion.

During the festive season, the demand curve of sugar shift to the right. The above
figure shows that the demand curve shifts from D1 to D2. . At a price of RM1.50 per
pack, the quantity demanded raise from 100,000 tons per months to 120,000 per
months, as reflected by the shift from point A to point B.
Excess demand during festive season

The above figure shows shortage of sugar. Because the market price of 1.50 is below
the equilibrium price, the quantity demanded exceeds the quantity supplied with too
many buyers chasing too few goods; suppliers can take advantage of the shortage by
raising the price.

Recommendations

To enhance the improvement of the domestic market life cycle of sugar industry co-
operation between the government, consumers and producers would leave a great
impact of result at the end. Thus, consideration has to be made over recommendations
in order to facilitate the solution over the crisis:

1. Allocation of certain dedicated fund towards venturing new source of growth


with increase of private sector participation would attract more investors to
invest into the agricultural sector trough the expansion of growing land and
mechanization.
2. Participation of Adoption of Good Agriculture Practices and better farming
management also contribute to the improvement of efficiency and
optimization of productivity level. Hence, implementation of the long-run
development strategy should be set up as soon as possible; these include the
agricultural research and training.
3. Emphasize the health awareness campaign of food insecurity over daily sugar
intakes which could lead to an obesity and diabetes illness among consumers.
4. Studying the feasibility of government productions quota and the creation of
stockpile can be seen as a measure to deal with the shortage of goods.
5. Optimization of security and observation by setting up an authorities or
supervisory body (policy and regulatory rules) such as the Federation of
Consumer Associations Malaysia (FOMCA) and the National Price Council
(MHN) to come over with price determination and future forecast of
consumers’ demand.

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