Intervention offer worries Irish Sugar

THE recent offering of 86,000 tonnes of European Union sugar into intervention was described by Irish Sugar yesterday as a very worrying development.

Irish Sugar, part of Greencore, said in recent weeks the French have offered 48,000 tonnes into intervention while the Belgians have offered 38,000 tonnes.

“While the use of intervention is provided for under the current sugar regime it hasn’t been used since the mid-1980s and reflects the difficult competitive market circumstances currently faced by all manufacturers across Europe,” it said.

The company said it had written to the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) to spell out the precise nature and severity of the market difficulties facing the Irish sugar industry.

IFA Sugar Beet Section chairman Jim O’Regan said last week he was dissatisfied no real progress had been made with Irish Sugar on the closure of the Carlow sugar factory and the 2005 beet contract.