CIUS, the European Sugar Users Association of the food and drink industries and CAOBISCO, the Association of the Chocolate, Biscuits and Confectionery Industries of the EU, have been following with great interest discussions between the EU and MERCOSUR. In light of the meeting between the chief EU and MERCOSUR negotiators taking place in September 2023, CIUS and CAOBISCO encourage the European Commission to conclude and ratify as soon as possible the agreed FTA with Mercosur.
We would like to call on the European Commission to:
Increase market access for raw and white sugar from MERCOSUR countries and to extend the planned TRQ. White sugar imports of sufficient quality and respecting origin rules should be facilitated so as to give access to sugar for the users of the food and drink sector in case of a deficit situation on the EU sugar market.
Consider alternative solutions to supply sugar to the European sugar users, as the current context and the existing access routes are not sufficient. It is fundamental for our sector to have access to alternative duty-free sources for sugars to ensure continued production of high value-added sugar containing products in Europe and remain competitive on the world market.
Consider the irrelevance of certain previously established TRQ. For example in Cuba, which has persistent, long-term shortages in availability and doesn’t produce enough volumes to export and therefore does not balance the market. It would be logical for these volumes to be allotted to another producing country.
Our full press release is available here.
