Human resource manager of Trinidad Tissues Ltd, Faizan Ali, says there is no need for the company to ramp up the production of toilet paper since it was part of a Latin American conglomerate with a sister company in Venezuela.
In her statement after meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar had said:
“The concept of commodity sharing is simple: The Government of Trinidad and Tobago will purchase goods identified by the Government of Venezuela from T&T’s manufacturers, such as tissue paper, gasoline, and parts for machinery, which are needed there.”
Ali said Trinidad Tissues Ltd operated as a subsidiary of Grand Bay International and manufactures and markets tissue paper products, therefore there was really no need for her company to increase its supply of products to Venezuela since there was already a huge plant in that country.
But the representative of another business company, (who asked not to be identified) when contacted yesterday, said the reason why toilet paper was so scarce was the country was cash-strapped and unable to afford raw materials to manufacture the needed commodity. He said although Venezuela had a manufacturing plant that country did not have the money to purchase the raw materials.
“It takes more than just pulp and newspaper to make the tissue products. You also need certain chemicals and if you do not have all these raw materials you cannot make anything. “So it is a matter of getting the money to purchase the raw materials and it seems that Venezuela does not have the money to do so, hence the shortage of toilet paper,” the representative added.
On whether toilet paper could be credited to Venezuela he said that was already a low-priced item so that would be difficult. Contacted yesterday chairman of the Food Distribution Association Marc Mouttet said he had no comment on the matter.
Proper systems needed—chamber
T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce president Moonilal Lalchan said the initiative could work once there were proper systems in place to ensure equity on both sides. Lalchan, also the vice-president of Finance and Administration at Atlantic LNG, said the agreement could also benefit T&T, especially in the area of gas. However, he warned that since the agreement was only signed on Tuesday it was unwise to jump to early conclusions as the details of the agreement still needed to be examined.