in Florida by Hurricane Andrew.

Mr. Mike Marshall, who owns the Marshall Group of Companies, has found that his business has also been hit by the hurricane.

And he has found that the whole of United States is suffering because of the problems occurring in the aftermath of Andrew.

Mr. Marshall runs an export shipping company moving commodities between the Caribbean islands and Miami. After his most recent visit to Florida, Mr.

Marshall said: "This is one of the worst disasters I have ever seen -- every house has some sort of damage.

"The clean-up in Florida is still going ahead. It is still a massive operation.'' Mr. Marshall said his company had been affected terribly by the knock-on effect of the hurricane.

He said: "There are no more full shipments out of the United States. Products are not available, they have been sent to Florida. And prices of the things that are left have gone up as a result.'' The huge operation in the hurricane-devastated areas of the South have also meant transportation is in short supply in other areas, because it is all tied up in relief work.