From Jamaica Gleaner

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Sugar Association of the Caribbean is urging Caribbean Community (CARICOM) governments to strengthen the regional market for Caribbean white sugar by enforcing the Common External Tariff (CET) on imported white sugar.

The association said it may surprise Caribbean consumers to know that currently the lemonade or cola that they drink is nearly always made with sugar shipped from Guatemala, Brazil, Colombia or Mexico rather than locally-produced sugar in the Caribbean.

It said the reasons for this are historical, and a result of longstanding preferential trade agreements with the EU, that provided regional producers with a guaranteed high market price for raw cane sugar.

But, the association said that these preferential arrangements came to an end in October 2017, leading to an increase in European production of beet sugar, and leaving Caribbean producers to sell their sugar at world market prices – a situation not faced by any other sugar producer worldwide.

“SAC is campaigning for a change in the trade rules for CARICOM governments to adopt as soon as possible the same approach as every other sugar producing region on the planet, thereby creating the right market conditions for a sustainable and successful future for the Caribbean sugar industry.”

It said the solution it is putting forward to CARICOM and regional governments is to strengthen the regional market for Caribbean white sugar by enforcing the Common External Tariff on imported white sugar.

“This would allow investment in production to proceed and allow regional producers to focus on supplying the needs of their natural customers – manufacturers of products like lemonade and cola in the region who are the most significant buyers of white sugar.”