JOINT PRESS RELEASE

BY SUGAR ASSOCIATION OF THE CARIBBEAN AND THE CARIBBEAN COUNCIL

For immediate release

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The EU’s quota management for sugar will end on 30 September 2017 and is expected to lead to a fall in prices towards the international sugar price and a decrease in sugar imports from the ACP, with particular impact on Caribbean producers.

Karl James, Chairman of the Sugar Association of the Caribbean, commented:

“With our exports still focused on EU markets, the Caribbean sugar industry faces a period of instability and change, and must urgently adapt in order to meet the challenge of competing with other sugar producing nations worldwide which have lower production costs or in a global market heavily distorted by trade barriers and government support. The prospect of the exit of the United Kingdom from the EU further adds to the uncertainty ahead.”

“The focus must be on identifying the practical next steps that we the industry, and our governments, can take as priority measures to reinvigorate our sugar sector and provide it with the means to prosper and grow in the 21st Century.”

“We look forward to taking forward with our partners in Government the policy recommendations from this important workshop to give the sugar industry in the Caribbean a positive future.”

Convened with the advice and support of The Caribbean Council, the CARICOM Secretariat and JAMPRO, the two-day regional workshop has been funded by the EU, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, ASR Group, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

The workshop will bring together industry leaders and policy makers to inform and facilitate an in-depth discussion of how the Caribbean sugar industry now needs to adapt to the new market realities and the policy options which are available to both industry and regional governments. It will take place on the 23rd and 24th March in Kingston, Jamaica.

The recommendations of the industry workshop will be presented to the Sixth Meeting of the CARICOM Stakeholders on Sugar, which will be convened by the CARICOM Secretariat and take place on the 24th March immediately after the workshop.

ENDS

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES:

The event will take place at JAMPRO offices on 23-24th March 2017.

The event is by invitation only. Members of the Press will be able to attend the opening session of the workshop only.

About the Sugar Association of the Caribbean:

The Sugar Association of the Caribbean (SAC) is a regional body representing Caribbean sugar producing nations of CARICOM. The Association holds regular meetings to assess developments such as crop yields, trade policies and the global sugar price; and how this affects the regional sugar industry. The SAC also provides advice and support to national sugar industries and Ministries of Agriculture, as well as the CARICOM Council of Trade and Economic Development (COTED).

About The Caribbean Council:

The Caribbean Council is a London-based not-for-profit consultancy which supports investment, trade and development between Europe, the Caribbean and Central America. Based on decades of experience in the region, the Council provides Caribbean governments and regional organisations with policy support and advocacy services, and facilitates the development of strategic partnerships between the private and public sectors. The Caribbean Council has a full time specialist staff based in London and a network of associate consultants in the Caribbean, Brussels, Geneva, Miami and Washington DC. The Council also has a new Asia regional office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

IMAGE: Guyana-sugar-cane-field: (Photo via Chronicle Newspapers)