(13/07/05) Europa produceert te veel suiker

• 2005-07-13

Europe is producing too much sugar
Action needed now on overdue sugar reforms

Friedrich Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf, German vice-president of the European Parliament's agricultural committee, said:
"Reform of the common market organisation for sugar is overdue. The EU has produced too much sugar, which puts pressure on world sugar prices. The EU, therefore, must halt surplus production and dumping exports of sugar. Both publicly subsidised re-export of sugar amounts (as a result of the ACP-preference treaty) and exports of millions of tons of C-sugar subsidised by farmer's money, have to be stopped immediately."

"The money saved by cancelling export subsidies should be used to finance rural development projects so as to sustain food sovereignty and development perspectives for rural and farming populations. People living in rural areas of the third world should be able to earn wages where they live, rather than creating additional pressure on over-populated urban areas. These regions need investment in education and infrastructure."

"The G8 summit decided to increase development aid. This is a good. But the poorest countries of the world need fair trade partnerships in order to develop. Mere market liberalisation leads to lower prices, to extreme regional specialisation and to the loss of food sovereignty. Liberalisation has damaged many developing countries – as studies have shown.*"

"We demand market access for the poorest countries at prices that cover costs, and within a framework of quotas. We reject the Commission's proposal as a direct step towards liberalisation as only the multinationals would benefit from it. Amounts, not prices, are the problem. To begin with the sugar market organisation was an instrument of quota regulation, as quotas matched consumption. But, over time, the system has become senseless with exports from expensive surplus production dumped onto world markets."

"In order to bring fair trade to developing countries, we must restrict ourselves: production quotas should be reduced to 75% of EU consumption. Through this, the EU's sugar producers can show solidarity with the farmers in the poorer countries, without risking their own livelihoods."

"Sugar price reductions even in the EU would not be advantageous. It would not lead to lower consumer prices and would probably lead to more sugar being added to foodstuffs."