Sugar
NEWSFLASH...
EU sugar deal – betraying poor
farmers in developing countries
On 24 November EU Agriculture Ministers agreed
on a final deal to reform the EU sugar regime. Despite lobbying
by campaigners, the agreed sugar deal will have a devastating impact
on developing countries and the environment. It will not guarantee
an end to dumping or that the poorest countries will have full access
to Europe's markets. This deal flies in the face of promises made
by the EU to create a fairer global trading system. Press
release >
Europe's policies…are putting us
at a disadvantage. They are rich and could give us a chance to live."
Sugar cane harvester in Mozambique
Unfair trade rules have crippled Mozambique's
highly efficient sugar industry.
 For
years the EU dumped thousands of tonnes of beet sugar on the world
market – sugar which was produced with generous government
subsidies and which was sold in developing countries at less than
half of what it cost to grow. This made competition impossible,
even though poor countries produce sugar far more cheaply than Europe.
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