Brussels, 06/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - Meeting on 30 January, the management committee discussed market measures for the sugar sector for the 2013/2014 marketing year.
The Commission proposed: 1) opening tendering procedures to allow more sugar imports; 2) introducing greater liberalisation of the so-called “out-of-quota” sugar market. There are not as yet any precise estimates of the exact quantities concerned. Figures are expected to be available at next week's management committee.
The Commission would like to increase supply and make the market more fluid. Sugar prices in the EU are still well above €600 per tonne (although they reached €700 per tonne a few weeks ago), when the global market price is around €300/t. In 2012/2013, the Commission added 1.2 million tonnes of sugar (600,000 tonnes of imported sugar and 600,000 of out-of-quota sugar). (LC/transl.fl)