European Commission should keep to the plan. Europe’s cane sugar refiners respond to the suspension of import tenders

Brussels, 12 January 2012 - European Commission should keep to the plan. Europe’s cane sugar refiners respond to the suspension of import tenders

Last Thursday the European Commission defied the wishes of 14 EU member states by cancelling the 3 remaining sugar import tenders in January and February. The justification was that sugar supplies in Europe are now sufficient.

The European Sugar Refiners’ Association believe that the EU Commission should keep to the plan. That means that if the EU Commission change their mind – and accept that supply is insufficient and there needs to be more – it should only come through the further cane sugar import tenders already existing in the legislation and scheduled for June and July.

This was the plan agreed by the EU Council in 2006 when the current Sugar Regime was agreed. Furthermore, it was the plan agreed in November 2011 when extra imports were the only mechanism foreseen for new supply once the Out of Quota measures for the sugar year 2011/12 had been filled.

Joao Pereira, President of ESRA, said “The biggest injustice would be if the European Commission were to decide later in the year that more supply was necessary, and it did not follow their plan and permitted legislation – for it to come from cane sugar imports.”