CAOBISCO Press Release

European sugar users welcome European commission announcement on EU sugar market liberalisation

Added: 12 October 2011

EUROPEAN SUGAR USERS WELCOME EUROPEAN COMMISSION ANNOUNCEMENT ON EU SUGAR MARKET LIBERALISATION

European Commission sets deadline to abolish sugar quota by 2015

European Sugar Users (CIUS) welcomed the European Commission announcement today, to abolish the EU sugar quota system by 2015. The announcement was made as part of the proposals on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform package*. CIUS has consistently called for many years for the abolition of EU sugar and isoglucose quota as part of establishing a market focused EU sugar regime.

Sugar is the last significant agricultural commodity which has not been opened up to market forces. The process of deregulating the EU sugar sector should begin without delay in 2015 with the abolition of production quotas, accompanied by reductions in import tariffs to a level that will stimulate competition in the market. This would help to deliver a more competitive EU sugar market while ensuring greater security of supply for sugar users.  This would also bring sugar into line with the majority of EU agricultural commodities, many of which have been open to the market for nearly ten years.

‘There is a clear need to establish market dynamics in the EU sugar market. This will help the whole value chain to meet the many supply and sustainability challenges of the future. Restrictive EU production quotas have little place in meeting the challenges of delivering EU and global food security. Particularly due to the current supply difficulties sugar users are facing’ said Robert Guichard, CIUS President.

The current EU sugar regime is not delivering a sustainable sugar value chain and needs long term action. European sugar users continue to experience immediate supply difficulties which are having significant detrimental impact on their competitiveness. These difficulties are predicted for the foreseeable future and can be directly attributed to the weaknesses of the current EU sugar regime.

Robert Guichard continued:
‘The current system is clearly not working, supporting the call for long term change. Members continue to struggle to secure supplies making it very difficult to establish long term supply relationships and contracts‘.

‘CIUS members are key players in the EU sugar value chain. As companies, we continue to show strong commitment to sugar processors, sugar farmers and our consumers. The current and future trading environment needs measures which promote stability, sustainability and security of supply. This can only be delivered through long term relationships in the value chain’.

For further information please contact Muriel Korter, CIUS Secretary General muriel.korter@cius.org GSM +32 498 708 158 / Tel: +32 2 539 1800

* Common Agricultural Reform announcement http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/cap-post-2013/legal-proposals/index_en.htm