BREXIT poses bigger regional sugar market opportunity in UK

Jul 27, 2018 News

Regional sugar producers are lobbying hard to the United Kingdom to take more of the sweetener, especially in light of the Brexit situation.
According to the Sugar Association of the Caribbean (SAC), its board members met with representatives from the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP)-sugar producing countries on 6th July in London, to discuss future market access to UK, post-BREXIT.
BREXIT is the impending withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). In a referendum on 23 June 2016, 51.9% of the participating UK electorate voted to leave the EU; the turnout was 72.2%.
Chairman of the ACP/LDC Group, Philip de Pass, outlined developments to date.
“EU reforms of the sugar market concluded last year have seen imports of cane sugar from traditional suppliers collapse. They are already down 55% compared with 2017/18 and 74% compared with 2013/14. ACP countries have been left substantially worse off than anticipated and the accompanying measures programme designed to help them has not had the desired impact.”
The official said that BREXIT is a once in a lifetime opportunity for traditional suppliers to the UK to retain a share of their traditional market for sugar.
SAC’s board representative, Mac McLachlan commented: “CARICOM sugar producers are now faced with the prospect of the loss of opportunity to export to their largest historic market – the UK. BREXIT offers UK policy makers an opportunity to support development partners in the Caribbean and wider ACP – and to create a level playing field for cane and beet refiners, where domestic production constraints permit a market environment which continues to provide UK consumers a continuing choice of cane sugar, or to lose this opportunity at the expense of some of the poorest farmers in the world.”
The UK opportunity for sugar is about 1.8 to 1.9 million tonnes per annum. Its local beet producers currently produce some 1 – 1.4 million tonnes per annum.
As a result, there is an opportunity for ACP and LDC sugar industries of 500,000 to 900,000 tonnes.
Guyana is currently barely making it past the 100,000-tonne mark after the Coalition Government closed four estates in the last 18 months because of poor production, mismanagement, falling prices and aging factories. The four estates – Skeldon, Rose Hall, Enmore and Wales – are up for privatisation and divestment.

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