And aside from flour, you'll know that there's been a sugar shortage for some time. The Ministry knows that the sugar meant for stores is being sold across the border to Mexican and Guatemalan markets. But the problem lies in how to stop this - and how to arrest the persons responsible. Mai says they're still at the drawing board trying to come up with a solution, but he believes there needs to be new legislation.

Jose Mai, Minister of Agriculture
"I just got off the phone yesterday with Mr Chavarria with the same matter, sugar. we're trying to control what is being sold. What he has said to me is that he's selling the stores directly and not the middle men so that the stores won't be able- but even if the stores, if you want to sell it abroad, they will sell it abroad. We don't have all the measures in place to control it, what I suggested to him and to our team is to come up with a law that had been in before when there was a rice war. Those who wanted to distribute rice had to have a permit. Now, you will know that there are people who receive sugar from BSI that we cannot find evidence that they sell to the stores so what are they doing with the sugar? We asked that they be audited by the tax department too because these people, we have found no evidence, no document that says they have sold this sugar to this store. We have to assume then that they are the ones who are exporting it to the Mexicans and Guatemalans. Now, again we don't have a law in place to say, if I find you, for example, remember the truck that was intercepted during the standoff, the police had to release it because there's no evidence that it was going abroad. I believe it was going there but in the country, you can't charge then for anything but now if the law is a law that says you have to have a license to wholesale sugar and I meet that truck on the road that doesn't have a license then that person is committing an offense. But again, we are still think tanking what is the best way to address this matter. But I will tell you, I do not see us importing our own sugar that we sell to ASR and importing it, that is not going to happen, at that price, absolutely not. I'm not for that and I will fight against that. We are a country that produces sugar, we need to produce our own sugar for ourselves. If we need to come up with some law that will prevent people from doing that, we have to do so."