Sugar reforms warning
Dr Sean Brady, managing director, said these improvements must protect the national industry and the viability of beet growing and sugar manufacturing in this country. He noted that EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has reiterated her objective of achieving agreement on the current reforms later this month.
The EU presidency is seeking to table a final compromise text for reform at the beginning of its planned council meeting beginning on November 22.
Dr Brady said Greencore Sugar has redoubled its lobbying efforts, meeting in recent weeks with Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan, the IFA, its processing allies and other stakeholders in the EU sugar industry.
The current reform proposals set out a basic beet price, below the cost of production in many of the peripheral regions of the EU.
Therefore, industries in these regions that have rationalised to achieve competitive processing efficiency still face uncertainty as the required beet supply cannot be guaranteed at a competitive cost post-reform.
Dr Brady said the most important element in the sugar industry is the customer. If Greencore Sugar cannot secure a competitive beet supply in Ireland to produce sugar,other larger EU sugar manufacturers will ensure sugar manufacturing in Ireland is undermined. “Greencore Sugar cannot and will not operate without an appropriate level of profitability and neither does it expect its suppliers to do so.”
Dr Brady said Mallow sugar factory is now operating at near 100% efficiency with a throughput to date of over 300,000 tonnes of beet and improved energy efficiency.
