EU reform bad news for beet farmers

BEET growers will be offered compensation for only 50 to 60% of their losses, in a proposed reform of the EU's sugar subsidy regime.

Leaked details of Commissioner Franz Fischler's reform proposals indicate he will look for a one third cut in the guaranteed EU sugar price between 2005 and 2007, reducing sugar quotas from 17.4 million to 14.6 million tonnes a year, and cutting subsidised sugar export levels from 2.4m tonnes a year to 400,000 tonnes.

Industry observers say these plans would end sugar production in many European regions. For the first time, it is proposed that farmers will be allowed to freely trade their beet quotas.