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British Beet Sugar Industry hails the upcoming deregulation of the European sugar market as great news for Britain

1 October 2017

British Beet Sugar Industry hails the upcoming deregulation of the European sugar market as great news for Britain

• British Sugar able to sell home-grown sugar without an artificial volume cap for the first time since 1968
• British beet sugar industry now has an opportunity to grow by up to 50%, and start to export on the global stage
• Liberalisation an opportunity for Britain

1st October sees the end of the European sugar regime, the final step that was agreed by EU Ministers in 2013 as part of a package of reforms of the European Common Agricultural Policy, with the vital backing of the British government.

Liberalisation is an opportunity for a highly productive British industry to grow. The change gives the British beet sugar industry, which is the one of the most efficient in the world, an opportunity to grow by as much as 50 percent, putting an end to a requirement to stockpile out-of-quota sugar produced during strong harvest years.

Paul Kenward, Managing Director of British Sugar, said: “This is a red letter day for the home-grown sugar industry. It gives us an opportunity to grow and prosper with no limit on the amount of sugar we can sell in the UK, Europe and around the world.

“Sugar quotas are no longer fit for purpose, and their abolition will benefit consumers, and also our growers.

”The remarkable progress made in recent years to transform the European sugar sector is due in no small measure to the efforts of the UK government, which has consistently backed a more free-market approach”, he said.

Paul Kenward added: “A surprising number of people don’t realise that half of all demand for sugar in the UK is met by home-grown sugar beet. Farmers in this country have been successfully growing beet for more than a century and yields have improved by 50% over the last three decades. Combined with substantial productivity gains and £250m investment in our manufacturing plants, we’re proud to be ranked among the lowest cost beet sugar producers in the world.”[1]

Enquiries:

Ruth Day 
British Sugar 
ruth.day@britishsugar.com
07864 800406
 

• British Sugar is the sole processor of the UK’s sugar beet crop, and supplies around 60 per cent of the UK’s demand for sugar. The company operates four advanced manufacturing plants across East Anglia and the East Midlands.
• In addition to producing sugar, each year, British Sugar’s factories produces a wide range of co-products including animal feed, electricity and bioethanol.
• British Sugar is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods. The company’s output is sold to consumers in the UK under the Silver Spoon brand and under many supermarket own-label brands.
• The sugar beet crop for the coming year is developing well, following recent favourable weather, and the latest sugar production estimate for 2017/18 is in excess of 1.4 million tonnes.

• From 1 October 2017 EU sugar policy becomes deregulated, with the abolition of national quotas and most other regulatory restrictions.
• The UK government held the Presidency of the EU in 2005, when the first round of sugar reforms was being negotiated.
• British Sugar is regarded by independent consultants LMC International as one of the most competitive sugar manufacturers in the world.
• The British beet sugar industry partners with 7,000 businesses including 3,500 growers in mainly rural areas of the country, and supports 9,500 jobs throughout the economy.