Irish push European Commission for reinstatement of sugar industry

IRELAND can restore the EU’s sugar self-sufficiency and reduce costly imports, promoters of Irish sugar interests have told the European Commission.

Ireland South MEP Seán Kelly and Allan J Navratil, chairman of the Irish Sugar and Bio-fuels Initiative, have called on the European Commission to reinstate the Irish sugar industry at a hearing of the European Parliament’s committee on petitions.

The EU is now only 85% self-sufficient in sugar since the Mallow factory in Cork closed. The EU sugar reform had aimed to achieve efficiency, but led instead to a loss of revenue, employment and home-grown produce, said Kelly and Navratil.