SYRACUSE -- The price of sugar is going up. Experts blame problems in the sugar-producing regions of India and the use of Brazilian sugar cane for ethanol production. That's a problem for bakers and chocolate shops. It's been a busy holiday season at Sweet On Chocolate in Armory Square.
Owner, PJ Goodman said, "We had a very good Christmas season. The cupboards are bare."
Even though sales are good, staying afloat has been a struggle. Over the last year, they've experienced a sharp increase in one of their baking staples, sugar. In fact, the contract with their supplier has increased 40%.
"You're robbing Peter and paying Paul all the time. It's very difficult to stretch your dollar even farther when every product we use to put in our chocolate also contains sugar," said Goodman
In dealing with the increase in sugar costs, they've had to get creative. They used to have 8-9 employees around the holidays, this year they only had 3."
Goodman said, "We have a tighter budget. I still don't want to raise my prices. They have been at the same price for 4 years now."
Goodman says eventually the cost will have to be passed on to the customer, but he worries that could turn people away.
He said, "You have to be reasonably priced in your market share."
Now he's waiting until his other big holidays, Valentine's day and Easter, to help cover the ever-rising cost of being a small business owner.
"We just budget the money and put away that nest egg and hope it gets us thru the summer."
