Sugar

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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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