Strike at Vancouver sugar refinery taking the sweetness out of the holiday season for businesses

A bitter strike at Rogers Sugar Factory in Vancouver has dampened the sweetness of the holiday season for bakers and candy makers. Small businesses across western Canada that need sugar are grappling with shortages and rising costs as a strike at one of the country's few sugar processing facilities enters its seventh week.

At Vancouver's Le Gateau Bakeshop, owner Tanya Muller is worried. During the busy Christmas season, she typically uses 150 to 200 kilograms of sugar a week to produce her bakery's 20 different types of specialty cookies. But now, the maximum amount of this candy that a major supplier gives him is two bags or 40 kilograms per week.

"We've done things like stop at Costco early in the morning and try to get in the first opportunity to see what's in there. And sometimes it works and sometimes, you know, Costco doesn't have anything," Mueller said.

"I'm afraid we won't be able to deliver our orders, which is definitely not ideal for the holiday season." Mueller says he's worried the sugar shortage will hurt his holiday income — an added worry as his business loan payment deadline approaches in January.

Martin Barnett, executive director of the Canadian Bakeries Association, says the holiday season is when bakers make the most money of the year.

"If they can't produce the volume they're hoping for, it's going to affect them and we might see some small bakeries being forced to close."

News Sources