DATE: September 12, 2018
On 7 September, the Sugar Association of the Caribbean (SAC), representing CARICOM sugar producers, issued a position paper on the regional integration of the sugar market.
CARICOM sugar producers are responding to changing market dynamics, which traditionally saw most CARICOM produced sugar shipped to the EU for refining, while much of the region’s demand has been met by extra-regional imported sugar. The paper suggests that the 300K ton demand for sugar in CARICOM can easily be met by supply from the region’s industries which produce more than 450K tons of the sweetener annually. Currently around 200K tons of this demand is met from imports from non-CARICOM countries, which enjoy tariff-free access due to the differentiation of white and brown sugar under CARICOM rules.
The paper makes the argument that review of this market distortion can produce a win-win for CARICOM sugar producers, industrial users of sugar and consumers, by creating a regional market that offers a level playing field to those manufacturing sugar containing products, better and reliable access to regional sugar, matched by sugar industry commitments to produce the volume and quality required for the majority of production needs. It says that the market presently works for brown sugar, which is fully protected by the Common External Tariff, and has encouraged a vibrant competition among CARICOM producers, driving down prices. It can easily do so for all sugar needs as producers adapt their production to produce white and brown sugar to a high quality. The paper states that CARICOM sugar producers are at a disadvantage to many other regions which protect their own industries, permitting them to export their residual sugar at knock down global market prices. CARICOM producers currently have no such protection, nor access to markets offering preferential pricing on which to base investment to improve their efficiency.
SAC Chairman, Karl James said, “We see an exciting future for the regions sugar market – where Caribbean sugar meets the majority of Caribbean demand. It is time in the true spirit of the single market for Caribbean products to contain Caribbean ingredients – especially sugar, which has been the backbone of many CARICOM agro-industries for centuries.”
Guysuco (Guyana Sugar Company) Director Paul Bhim said, “Guyana has for many years provided sugar into the CARICOM market. We recognise the need to develop value-added products to meet demand. For that reason Guysuco will be investing in production of Plantation White Sugars (PWS).”
At a time when the functionality of the CARICOM single market is in question, sugar is a clear example of how the community can adapt to support its industries on which hundreds of thousands of Caribbean jobs depend. Godwin Hulse, Belize Agriculture Minister, echoing the views of other regional agriculture ministers said “It is time to get a handle on this issue if we are going to have a sugar industry moving forward. If the single market won’t work for sugar, it won’t work for anything.”
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Note to editors:
SAC now awaits the urgent convocation of the meeting of CARICOM sugar stakeholder group by the CARICOM Secretariat as mandated by COTED to share the position paper and its findings and engage with all relevant stakeholders. This is mandated to take place ahead of the next COTED meeting scheduled for November 2018.
For further information, see our website: www.caribbean-sugar.org
Or please contact:
R. Karl James
Chairman, SAC
t + 876 929-6213
m + 876 371-2637
Email. karl.james@caribbean-sugar.org
William A. Neal
Government Affairs and Communications Officer,
Belize Sugar Industries Limited
t +501 322-2150
m +501 610-9774
Email. william.neal@asr-group.com