At a major CIBE (International Confederation of European Beet Growers) Congress held in Reims, France last week (13th June), Gerd Sonnleitner, president of European farmers’ organisation Copa Cogeca, called for EU sugar production quotas to be retained until at least 2020. He said that reforms in 2006 had a major effect on the sector and asked that current conditions be retained after 2015 to allow the sector to settle.

He argued that Quotas must be maintained to enable industry to maintain a stable market organisation, which would improve EU sugar’s competitiveness. Mr Sonnleitner insisted: “Recently, producers already suffered painful economic cuts under the 2006 reform. In the EU, 140,000 beet growers had to abandon sugar beet production and 10,000 jobs were lost. Those farmers who continued growing sugar beet had to face up to a significant decline in the minimum beet price and the reference price for white sugar.

“National quotas were reduced to 85 percent of EU internal demand, transforming the EU from a net exporter into a net importer. Further progress in plant breeding, through which up to 20 tonnes of sugar per hectare can be achieved in the best beet producing regions, will contribute to a more efficient sector. We also have to maintain the competitiveness of the sector, in comparison to other arable crops sectors."

The Copa official suggested that the European sugar sector will require “common market organisation in order to improve its competitive position”. Under current EU plans, following a gradual phasing out, sugar quotas will come to an end by 2015. In Britain, the sugar industry aims to increase production by four per cent each year until quotas end to ensure it remains competitive after 2015.

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