The European sugar sector has come through the end of the sugar quota period without too much loss, according to a study published on Monday 31 January by the European Commission.
The fact that the sector as a whole “weathered the storm suggests that its overall level of resilience is satisfactory”, the report says, noting that the negative effects of the prolonged price depression were felt most acutely in Member States.
In the 2017/2018 campaign (the first without quotas), the sector experienced “exceptionally abundant” sugar production. Oversupply, combined with falling international sugar prices, has triggered a four-year period of low sugar prices on the EU market that has proved to be a severe stress test, the report says.
Since the 2018/2019 campaign, the annual downward adjustment of sugar production indicates that the EU market is finding a new equilibrium, according to experts. The average price of white sugar on the EU market has been slowly increasing from the low reached in January 2019 (312 euros/tonne) and was reported to be 408 euros/tonne in September 2021.
Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/3q (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)