CIUS, the European Sugar Users Association of the food and drink industries and CAOBISCO, the Association of the Chocolate, Biscuits and Confectionery Industries of the EU, have been following with great interest discussions between the EU and Mercosur – the Southern Common Market. CIUS and CAOBISCO encourage the European Commission to conclude and ratify as soon as possible the agreed FTA with Mercosur.

In a joint statement, the organizations call on the European Commission to:

• Increase market access for raw and white sugar from Mercosur countries and extend the planned TRQ. White sugar imports of sufficient quality and respecting origin rules should be facilitated so that F&B businesses can have access to it in case of a deficit situation in the EU sugar market.
• Consider alternative solutions to supply sugar to European sugar users, as the current context and the existing access routes are not sufficient. “It is fundamental for our sector to have access to alternative duty-free sources of sugars to ensure continued production of high value-added sugar-containing products in Europe and remain competitive on the world market,” the announcement details.

The EU-Mercosur FTA would allow 180,000 tonnes of South American raw sugar to have free access to the EU market. However, the agreed amount is far below Mercosur`s potential to export sugar to the EU which could compensate for the supply deficit in the EU. “We believe that the agreed amount should be revised upwards and an equivalent volume given to the import of white sugar directly accessible to the EU food and drink industry.”

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