Sugar proposal ‘threat to jobs’
The proposals provide for a 25% beet price cut in 2005 and 2006 and a 37% cut in 2007, along with a European quota reduction of 2.8m tonnes or 16% over four years.
Europe’s 332,000 beet growers are opposing the sweeping EU Commission reforms, although they include a proposal to pay them compensation.
Mr Ahern said he was alarmed at the proposals, which would have serious implications for jobs in the sugar processing industry and for farmers growing beet.
He said he fully supported Agriculture and Food Minister Joe Walsh in his determination to strongly oppose the proposals when they come before the Council of Agriculture Ministers.
Mr Ahern has responsibility for Ireland’s input to negotiations in the World Trade Organisation on the Doha round of trade liberalisation.
In this context, he said he considered that the sugar reform proposals are inappropriate and need to be changed significantly.
Mr Ahern welcomed confirmation by EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy that in the current WTO negotiations the commission will not go beyond what is already agreed as part of the 2003 CAP reform.
Beet growers supply the two Irish Sugar processing plants at Mallow and Carlow with about 1.3 million tonnes of beet grown on about 80,000 acres each year.
The overall value of the crop to farmers is about €75m. Some 240 haulers are used to transport it to the factories to manufacture 192,200 tonnes of sugar - Ireland’s quota.
Members of the IFA Sugar Beet Committee joined European beet growers from Spain, Portugal, Italy, Finland and Greece in Brussels earlier this month to protest at the commission proposals.
Chairman Jim O’Regan said the proposed reforms were draconian.
