Negotiations to reform EU sugar policy may deplete Irish industry

THE negotiations on the proposals to reform the European sugar regime will be tough, according to Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan. She made the prediction as fears intensified that the revised EU proposals, due to be published on June 22, could wipe out the sugar industry in Ireland. Adding to the anxiety about the potential impact of a more radical than anticipated reform is a recent ruling by the WTO that the EU was illegally pushing subsidised sugar on to the world market.

Minister Coughlan said Ireland, unfortunately, does not have as many of the member states supporting it as it would have had in normal circumstances. She said she had spoken with the French and the Germans, in particular, and with the British, to try and press upon them that Ireland has been through a difficult time in sugar and that it had consolidated manufacturing down to one site. “We always knew that the WTO ruling would have an impact on the final decision on the sugar regime and we are to look carefully at that.

“But, as it stands, the present proposals are not acceptable to me and many other member states and we will have to see a compromise. Particularly, my concern would be on price and quota.” Minister Coughlan said she was concerned that 20% of Ireland’s sugar capacity has now been lost to French competition.