By Henrietta Billings - 23rd June 2004
International aid campaigners have attacked a proposed overhaul of controversial EU sugar subsidies, due to unveiled by the European Commission in July.
The current system has been criticised for unfairly discriminating against sugar producers from developing countries.
It combines artificially high prices, production quotas and tariffs to block cheap imports. And high export subsidies mean EU farmers can export millions tonnes of sugar every year.
"The proposed reform package will not end the dumping of sugar which destroys poor people's livelihoods," said Jo Leadbeater, head of Oxfam International's EU advocacy office.
"This shows that Brussels is not listening to developing countries and is not serious about genuine sugar reform."
Under unpublished proposals, seen by FT Europe, sugar prices would tumble by one third between 2005-7, quotas would be reduced from 17.4 million tonnes to 14.6m tonnes, and subsidised sugar exports would be slashed from 2.4m to 400,000 tonnes a year.
The planned reforms would strengthen the EU's position in the current round of global trade negotiations - Brussels is already under pressure to curb its €43bn farm subsidies regime.
And European consumers and the sugar reliant industries are also set to benefit from lower prices.
But Oxfam argues that the reforms do not go far enough to re-dress the imbalance between sugar farmers in the EU and developing countries.
"Cuts of only 2.8m tonnes will not create space for increased imports from developing countries," it said in a statement.
Instead campaigners recommend quota cuts of 5.2m tonnes, or one-third of the EU quota and an end to all exports.
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