No Sugar Shortage at Present Time, Says Professor at Business School

"There is absolutely no reason for panic because of the shortage of sugar in the stores," Dr. Melvin Thomas Copeland, professor of Marketing at the Business School, said yesterday.

Professor Copeland, who is making a survey of world sugar production, said that if there were no hoarding, there would be enough sugar for everyone. "Cuba alone," he continued, "could satisfy all of the civilian as well as the military needs of the United States. In one year, Cuba's output exceeded 5,000,000 tons and this can be duplicated if there is a need for it."

By means of the Government sugar rationing program, which goes into effect next month and is designed to prevent hoarding, it will be possible for every family to buy just as much sugar this year as last he said.

"So far, there has been no program for stepping up production and the Department of Agriculture has even been limiting it." Professor Copeland said. "Last year, by lifting the restrictions, the Government increased the supply by about 1,800,000 tons.

"This rationing program was made necessary by the Japanese attack on the Philippines, one of the main sources of supply, which, before December 7 exported annually 1,000,000 tons of sugar to this country, or about 15 per cent of our normal consumption."

Transportation problems due to the war in the Pacific, he stated will reduce the Hawaiian supply, which normally is about 700,000 tons.

Doubting if there has been an actual civilian shortage, Professor Copeland warned that the war boom has accentuated the possibilities of a shortage because housewives are spending their defense payroll checks on abnormal purchases of sugar. "A few extra pounds held by each family adds up to a lot of sugar and makes all the difference, between a shortage and a surplus."