Tonga sugar shortage goes sour

Blessing in disguise. Considering how obese we are, less sugar will do us a lot of good. Now how do we get a shortage of mutton, salt and alcohol to occur?

It shouldn't be surprising that sugar prices have spiked. The problem is the shortage and not the price the store charged. Once the shortage problem is solved then the price will come back. Consumer affairs have been doing a great job, and hope they continue bringing awareness to consumers. But just on a broader point, I don't believe Tonga would benefit by controlling prices. It would benefit more by protecting consumers from anti-competition activities, for example suppliers colluding together to fix a price they both would charge, or suppliers in dominant positions in the market pushing up the price.

I understand that some people are pressuring politicians to introduce more and more price controls like price ceilings, believing it will benefit the poor. But with price ceilings it doesn't, especially in times of shortage. The well-connected benefit, who are usually the rich, they will get the goods or services in short supply. The poor will be worse off, therefore price ceilings don't work in the way we might think. There are other policies that will help bring fair opportunities to everyone. We should also be more careful moving away from free markets.

'Oku ou fokotu'u atu mahalo na'a koha taimi eni ke fakakaukau a Tonga ke fokotu'u ha kautaha ngaaahi'anga suka etc ma'a Tonga ke tokoni ki he kakai. Ko e founga pe ia ke solova'aki e polopalema ni. 'Oku ou tui e fiefia lahi e kakai ke ngoue'i e too (ke ma'u mo ha'anu seniti) pea 'e toe tokoni lahi ki ha fa'ahinga ke si'i ma'u ai mo ha'anau mo'ui he ngaue'anga ni. He 'oku 'i ai e ngaahi koloa ia 'e lava pe ia 'e Tonga o ngaohi 'o 'oua 'e toe humai mei NZ, Aussie etc. Ko e koloa ngaohi 'e he kakai Tonga 'i Tonga ma'ae kakai Tonga. Ko e honge suka koia 'a Tonga 'oku ne faka'ata mai kitu'a e polopalema lahi 'oku hoko he fonua - 'ta'e palani" - he na'e totonu ke 'oua 'e hoko e honge suka. Ko hono 'uhinga ko Tonga toko taha pe he fo'i kolope pea mo e Pasifiki 'oku honge suka.