Brussels, 16/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - The member states of the EU, meeting in the Committee for the Common Organisation of the Agricultural Market on Thursday 15 May, voted in favour of a proposal by the European Commission to open an import quota of 400,000 tonnes a year over the next three marketing years for sugar for industrial use.
The aim is to make sure that there is enough sugar available for industrial purposes on the sugar market of the EU. The decision will be published in the Official Journal in the next few weeks and will apply as of 1 October 2014. Interested business will therefore be able to apply for licences as of 1 October 2014 to run until 30 September 2017, when sugar quotas will come to an end, as agreed in the reform of the common agriculture policy.
The Commission has opened import quotas for similar quantities of sugar for industrial purposes over the past few years. The use of these import quotas remains usually very limited (1% for the current year). (LC)