Brussels, 30/04/2003 (Agence Europe) - The Special Agricultural Committee (SCA) has noted that it agrees on a proposal setting guaranteed prices for sugar from ACP countries and India, bought by the EU for the period 2001/2 and 2002/3. The Council is expected to endorse without debate this decision which aims to conclude the negotiations launched and agreed a year ago between the EU and the countries in question as part of the measures included in Protocol No. 3 on ACP sugar and an agreement with India on cane sugar.
Regretting the lack of publicity about this now traditional decision, the Spanish delegation highlighted the benefits of the Common Agricultural Policy to developing countries. This decision will in fact make it possible to fund ACP and Indian sugar exports in the form of refunds and aid for sugar refining, to the tune of nearly EUR 700 million a year (EUR 662.9 million for the delivery year 2002/2003 and EUR 617.4 million in 2001/2002).
The guaranteed prices for these two marketing years have been set at EUR 37 per 100 kgs for raw sugar and EUR 65 per 100 kilogrammes for white sugar (taking account of transport costs, known as "derived intervention prices applied in certain regions of the European Community"). The Community intervention price on the EU market for refined white sugar is EUR 63.17 per 100 kgs and EUR 52.37 per 100 kgs for raw sugar.