Brussels, 16/03/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 16 March , the European Commission announced that an agreement had been reached with Croatia on the establishment, from January 2007, of a duty-free tariff quota for sugar exports to the Community market from this Western Balkan country. The quota, which amounts to 180,000 tonnes of sugar, replaces the current free access deal enjoyed by Croatia under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU. In exchange, the EU may export up to 80,000 tonnes of sugar to Croatia at preferential tariffs (25% reduction in duties in 2007, 30% in 2008 and 50% in 2009 and after), up to 80,000 tonnes of sugar. Croatian sugar exports increased from 600 tonnes in 2000 to 200,000 in 2005. Such quotas have existed since July 2005 for other countries of the Western Balkans: Serbia and Montenegro and Kosovo (180,000 tonnes), Albania (10,000 tonnes), Bosnia-Herzegovina (12,000 tonnes) (see EUROPE 8885). Since January 2006, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has had an export quota of 7,000 tonnes of sugar. Croatia is the last country of the Western Balkans with which the EU has negotiated a tariff quota.