"The benefits of EBA in sugar are not sustainable without remunerative prices so that EBA can be meaningful for our economies.
"The options of total liberalization [of the EU sugar regime] and the price fall option would ultimately torpedo EBA. Without a managed market which gives remunerative prices, we would have great difficulty to reap the benefits of EBA in the sugar sector.
"It took us five months of consideration to arrive at our proposal, which also takes account of the interests of farmers in Europe, cane sugar refiners, sugar manufacturers and our ACP colleagues; our proposal responds favourably to other stakeholders.
"We're not saying no to duty and quota free access, but we want to delay that for ten years to give us time to attract investment in our sugar industries ... [whilst] the fall in prices would be gradual, modest and predictable. Our proposal is fair, practical and intellectual."
LDC Ministerial Spokesman on Sugar, 3rd March 2004.
The LDC Sugar Group represents the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) which produce sugar and which are signatory to the Framework Agreement on EBA Sugar.
The LDC Sugar Group comprises the LDC Brussels Sugar Group, grouping together Ambassadors of LDC countries with substantial interest in sugar, and the LDC London Sugar Group, grouping together sugar industry representatives.
The LDC Sugar Group is the authentic voice of people working to use sugar to foster sustainable socio-economic development in Least Developed Countries. The LDC Sugar Group works closely with the ACP group, which together have established joint ACP and LDC ministerial consultations on sugar; many LDCs are also ACP countries. The LDC Sugar Group also liaises closely with NGO's such as Oxfam.
What's new?
03 Aug 2007 - Deliveries of EBA Sugar to the EU. Below, please find the latest statistics on deliveries of EBA sugar to the EU from 2001/02 to date. The data is presented this year as an online spreadsheet, courtesy of Zoho.com. In each year since the EBA initiative was adopted in 2001, the LDC countries have reliably supplied every gramme of the quantities available to them, with a record of 100% quota fill. The EBA sugar has been delivered to Tate & Lyle (in the UK and Portugal), RAR, Finnsugar, Tovarna Sladkora (Slovenia), Saint-Louis Sucre, and Tereos. The sugar and products made by these European companies may therefore be described as "the fairest trade sugar".
29 May 2006 - Second EBA Sugar Framework Agreement agreed by LDC Ministers. Meeting in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on 29 May 2006, LDC Ministers adopted the Second EBA Sugar Framework Agreement. The LDC Sugar Supplying States with substantial or potentially substantial interest in supplying raw cane sugar for refining to the EU market intend to use the EBA Sugar Quota to the full, in accordance with European Union Legislation in particular Council Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 on the common organization of the markets in the sugar sector, and they intend to ensure as far as possible that the full benefits of the EBA Sugar Interim Quota shall accrue to their sugar industries in both fields and factories.
24 Feb 2006 - Deliveries of EBA Sugar to the EU. Please download the latest statistics on deliveries of EBA sugar to the EU from 2001/02 to date. In each year since the EBA initiative was adopted, the LDC countries have reliably supplied every gramme of the quantities available to them, with a record of 100% quota fill. The EBA sugar has been delivered to Tate & Lyle (in the UK and Portugal), RAR, Finnsugar, Tovarna Sladkora (Slovenia), Saint-Louis Sucre, and Tereos. The sugar and products made by these European companies may therefore be described as "the fairest trade sugar".
21 Feb 2006 - New Sugar Regime Adopted. The EU Council today
adopted by a qualified majority the three regulations on the reform of
the EU sugar sector. The Greek, Polish and Latvian delegations voted against,
whilst Slovenia and Lithuania, which were initially against the proposed
texts, joined the delegations in favour of the reform package. Below,
please download the adopted regulations and accompanying statements.
25 Nov 2005 EU agriculture ministers sweeten
the pill of sugar reform with a raft of extra measures for beet processors,
beet growers and EU refiners, but the LDCs are left out in the cold."I
am delighted with this historic agreement", EU Agriculture Commissioner
Mariann Fischer Boel said today, insisting that the reform, involving a price
cut of 36% within 4 years, would guarantee the sugar sector a viable long term
future and would strengthen the EU's negotiating position in the WTO Doha Development
Round talks.
However, Adam Harrison of WWF said in a joint press release with Oxfam, "It
is about as bad as it could be", and added that the deal is the worst possible
result for developing countries and the environment. French Agriculture Minister
Dominique Bussereau told a news conference, "This agreement respects the
objectives set down by France ... that you should be able to use your relative
competitive advantage", but Irish sugar beet growers claimed the €310m aid
package to reform the Irish industry was a black day for farming. John Dillon,
IFA president said: "It was untenable for Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan
to hand over the bulk of the compensation to Greencore when she had presided
over the wipe-out of the country’s 3,700 beet growers." On behalf of the
ACPs, the Hon. Arvin Boollel, Agriculture
Minister of Mauritius said, "The effect of the price cut is going to be so
devastating that we are talking of massive poverty and social upheaval".
Of particular concern the the LDCs, the agreement on EU sugar imposes new restrictions
on LDC sugar until 2015, making a mockery of the EBA initiative, and in addition,
it restricts the potential buyers of EBA raw sugar to around 6 companies in
the EU until 2015 rather than enabling the LDCs to sell their sugar to whomever
they please.
Mrs Fischer Boel said, "I know I'll be in a much better position for the
[WTO trade] negotiations in December", but one wonders why the ninety or
so ACP and LDC ministers would now wish to offer the EU any support in the WTO
talks, for example, for EU sugar to be treated as sensitive, or for the maintenance
of an effective SSG, or on the issue of domestic or export subsidies? Without
these WTO measures to protect the new EU sugar regime and maintain community
preference, today's decision of the EU agriculture ministers risks there
having to be another reform of the COM sugar in 2009 and EU sugar production,
far from stabilizing around 12 to 14 million tonnes, could be reduced much further
as the deficit areas become supplied with world market sugar duty paid.
19 Sep 2005 LDC Ministers to meet EU counterparts to make case for just and equitable sugar reform. Brussels, 19 September 2005 - A Ministerial delegation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) group, along with representatives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states, will meet with their EU counterparts on 19 September in Brussels to discuss the proposed reform of the EU sugar regime.
LDC press statement
16 Sep 2005 LDC and ACP Ministers meet at
UN World Summit in New York A delegation led by the Prime Minister of Mozambique
met with the British Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, at the UN World Summit
New York to discuss the proposed reform of the EU sugar regime. Download
Draft Ministerial Speaking Notes
10 Sep 2005 Please download latest LDC sugar
group documents:
26 Apr 2005 The LDC Sugar Group have published
a new study from consultants LMC that gives evidence that between 120,000-145,000
jobs would be created in the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and an
additional $500 million of investment would be attracted to LDCs, if the proposal
on sugar made by LDC Ministers on 3rd March 2004 is implemented. The proposal
would bring greater income certainty for some of the poorest countries, leading
to the development of a sustainable and competitive sugar industry in these
fragile economies.
24 Jan 2005Meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers, Ministers from ACP and LDC countries and Members of the European Commission. On 24 January 2005, an ACP/LDC ministerial declaration led by Minister Nandcoomar Bodha (Mauritius) (ACP Ministerial Spokesman) and Minister Gelal Yousiff Eldegeir (Sudan) (LDC Ministerial Spokesman), met with EU-25
Agriculture Ministers and Commissioners Marian Fisher-Boel (Agriculture), Peter Mandelson (Trade) and Louis Michel (Development) in the margins of the EU Agriculture Council at the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels.
The Commission representatives presented the ACP ministers with an Action Plan to accompany the proposed reforms to the EU sugar regime, and five ACP and LDC ministers and the Chairman of the LDC London Sugar Group, Mr Graham Clark, responded with statements to the EU25 ministers. The meeting concluded with a commitment to maintain dialogue after the Commission's legal proposals are submitted, and the meeting was followed by a press conference.
Copies of the statements made by the ACP, LDC and EU ministers, and of
Commissioners Fisher-Boel, Mandelson and Michel may be downloaded here:
21 Jan 2005Madrid Declaration: On 21st Jan 2005, a delegation of ACP and LDC ministers met with the Minister of Agriculture of Spain and senior officials of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture in Madrid. At the end of the meeting, the ministers adopted the Madrid Declaration on the reform of the EU sugar regime which may be downloaded here:
Madrid Declaration
22 Nov 2004A Sweeter Future? On 22 November 2004, Oxfam reported on the potential for EU sugar reform to contribute to poverty reduction in southern Africa. Oxfam said, "Some countries in southern Africa, among the poorest in the world, have long-term potential to build sugar industries that contribute to poverty reduction. Their ability to fulfil this potential depends critically on the outcome of EU sugar reforms, currently under discussion, which will determine their access to the lucrative EU sugar market. Existing EU reform proposals will neither improve meaningful market access for the poorest countries nor end the scandal of export dumping. The EU must revise its reform strategy in line with its international development commitments." Meanwhile, the sugar industry of the Netherlands, grouped under the banner "Platform Toekomst Suikermarkt", submitted a plan for a future EU sugar regime which would amongst other things achieve an equilibrium between supply and demand on the EU sugar market, a viable future for efficient EU sugar production, open opportunities for the poorest countries to export sugar to the EU, introduce a system of national quotas and import quotas to combat carousels and fraudulent imports, and the termination of European export quotas with refund. The LDC Sugar Group has not pronounced on the position paper of the Platform Toekomst Suikermarkt, however, it is recognized as an interesting development. Please download Oxfam's report here.
13 Sep 2004Meeting with Commissioner Fischler. On 13th September 2004, a delegation
of LDC ministers comprising Minister Gelal Yousiff Eldigair (Sudan) (LDC Ministerial
Spokesman), Minister Eunice Kezembe (Malawi) and Vice Minister S Namburete (Mozambique),
met with Commissioner Fischler. The LDC delegation presented Mr Fischler with
a paper responding to the Commission's
communication of 14th July 2004.
3 Mar 2004LDC Proposal. On 3rd March 2004, an LDC proposal
on sugar was put to Commissioners Lamy
and Fischler
at ACP House in Brussels by Ministers of Trade,
Commerce and Agriculture from Bangladesh,
Ethiopia,
Malawi, Mozambique
and Sudan. Twelve other LDCs were represented
by their ambassadors. The Commission accepted the LDC proposal, and Mr Fischler
requested to continue an open and transparent
dialogue with LDC representatives in Brussels until he makes his proposal on
the EU sugar regime before the summer break. In support of the LDC Ministerial Spokesman, the Honourable Girma Birru, Minister of Trade and Industry of Ethiopia, said,
"Much can be achieved by the Commission and other stakeholders
to avoid the disaster of the coffee market in another commodity". The
Honourable Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Minister for Commerce of Bangladesh
said, "We need a timeframe to be ready for free trade, time
to bring down our costs of production, and protection until then. The Doha Round
is the development round; the only way to ensure development is on a preferential
basis". The Honourable Sam Mpasu, Minister of Commerce and Industry of
Malawi, said, "To fight poverty, we, vulnerable LDCs, need
a transitional period so that at the end of the day we become more competitive
and can develop our economies" . The Honourable Salvador Namburete, Vice-Minister
of Industry of Mozambique, said, "We are asking you to change
the [sugar] regime in order to protect the LDCs or we could witness production
shifting to more developed countries such Brazil and Thailand".
26 Feb 2001EBA Initiative. On 26 February 2001 the General Affairs Council adopted
the "Everything
But Arms" (EBA) amendment to the EU's Generalised
Scheme of Preferences (GSP). EBA extends duty and quota free access to all
products originating in LDCs, except arms and ammunition. Only the three
most sensitive products, sugar, bananas and rice are not liberalised immediately.
The Secretary
LDC London Sugar Group
Tel: +44 20 7089 8424
Fax: +44 20 7089 8171
Email:
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