Lobbying in the run up to the latest bout of decision making in the EU secured the bloc's sugar quota for five more years.

During agricultural policy reform discussions, EU leaders voted to preserve sugar quotas, which set official limitations on sugar production, but protect farmers from the worst effects of the free market. Although Agriculture Committee MEPs reviewing CAP reforms voted to retain the sugar regime, their amendments must go before the Parliament as a whole in March before the policy's future is assured.

Some food industry players have been highly critical of the quota extension, which they claim will force consumers to pay premium prices for sugar, even while prices are at 2 year lows elsewhere in the world.  However, producers' groups in the EU and elsewhere maintain that removing protective legislative barriers too soon would threaten their viability.

As with disagreement over the EU budget figure, there was debate within Europe on the future of the regime, with a North-South divide emerging, in which Northern governments favoured abandoning quotas. Although EU sugar price per tonne is around twice the global average, the main voices calling for deregulation, who claim the current state of affairs is threatening SMEs who use sugar, belong to large corporations such as Coca-Cola and Nestlé, which account for around 70 percent of sugar use in the EU.

This week, the NFU in the UK reshuffled its sugar board; though the chair's position remained unchanged, two of three other board members will change.

Chair William Martin said on Thursday, "We continue to look to the future and wish to encourage greater involvement of the younger generation of growers. I look forward to continuing the work that is underway on behalf of beet growers as we enter a crucial period in the coming months with both the changes to the sugar regime under on-going debate and with our work to try and ensure the challenges of competitiveness and production risk which beet growers face on farm are recognised by the processor."

The elected members will take their place on the sugar board from the next meeting of in March, where a vote will then be made to appoint officeholders including the chairman and vice chairman positions.