Here's why you may not find sugar at the grocery store

Strike leads to sugar shortage A strike at a Vancouver factory has some in Edmonton struggling to get sugar. David Ewasuk has the story.

Bakers may notice a shortage of certain sugar products on grocery store shelves this holiday season.

Workers at Rogers Sugar in Vancouver have been on strike since September over wages and work hours.

The B.C. manufacturing plant distributes white, brown, and yellow sugar to most of Canada.

One local bakery says its supplier has more than doubled the price of yellow sugar.

"Our number one ingredient is flour. I think number two is sugar. So yeah, it was a huge blow when we heard about it," said Edgar Semler, co-owner of Bon Ton Bakery.

Semler says his business has had to find a new source for sugar.

"We get in our vehicle and two, three times a week we go drive to Costco Business Centre or Wholesale Club and we pick it up and their prices are a little better."

In an email to CTV News Edmonton, Rogers Sugar says it is working hard to support its customers through the labour disruption.

"The Vancouver sugar refinery has continued to operate at a reduced level, and we have used our other facilities to support our valued customers in Western Canada," a spokesperson said.

"We are fully committed to reaching a new collective bargaining agreement with our unionized staff in Vancouver and remain willing to engage in discussions aimed at finding a solution that works for the company and for the employees, and that supports our customers."

With files from CTV News Edmonton's David Ewasuk