THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has agreed to delay the implementation of the price cut on sugar from African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries until July 2006 instead of the July 2005 date originally proposed.
Agriculture Minister, Roger Clarke, who made the announcement, credited the postponement to the intense lobbying efforts by the ACP, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and his ministry in collaboration with the Sugar Industry Authority (SIA).
The extent of the cut that will be made next year, is however, not known at this time, as the minister indicated that the ACP states were still lobbying for modifications to be made to the EU proposal. The EU had initially proposed a 37 per cent reduction over a three-year period, beginning with a 20 per cent cut on July 1 and another 17 per cent reduction applied over the next two years.
Notwithstanding the postponement, minister Clarke said that CARICOM remained adamant that there should be no price cuts until 2008, consequent on the review of the Cotonou Treaty in 2006.
LOBBYING EFFORTS
Ambassador Derick Heaven, executive chairman of the SIA, said that CARICOM, along with other ACP countries, had proposed a five per cent cut in 2008, and that any remaining cut be phased in over a 10-year period.
He said that CARICOM, by its lobbying efforts, should not be viewed as mendicants "who are going to Europe with a begging bowl". CARICOM's stance, he pointed out, was in fact consistent with the 2000 Cotonou Treaty, which signalled that no changes would be made before 2008.
Ambassador Heaven noted further, that the efforts of the ACP countries to prevent the EU from going ahead with its proposal was in fact within their rights, as Europe broke an agreement, and coined their own, before consulting with the ACP partners.
He pointed out that a 37-per cent price cut was unnecessary, and if implemented as proposed, would have devastating effects on the economies of ACP states as well as their suppliers.
Jamaica earns approximately US$100 million per year from sugar exports and the cut would result in a loss of some US$37 million in annual earnings and significantly affect rural families, a number of which are heavily dependent on the sugar industry for their survival.
