What should growers be doing now to prepare their businesses for life after sugar quotas?
Well according to the Chairman of the NFU Sugar Board, William Martin it will all be about working together.
Speaking at the 2015 NFU Conference, Mr Martin told delegates: “When European quotas end in 2017, we will still have the same opportunities to exercise our collective strength if we continue to work together.
“Part of the debate that we need to have is how far do we want as growers to be linked to the vagaries and fluctuations of the sugar markets. How far do we want the customer to help insulate us – there is no right answer.
Dr Andrew Francis, NFU Senior Sugar Adviser added: “With the abolition of sugar quotas, the European market is going to be much more open to outside factors.”
Colm MacKay, Chairman of British Sugar said: “The UK is the most cost competitive in Europe. Sugar is a commodity and it only survives by being competitive. France though has the potential to achieve greater competiveness in a few years.
“We shouldn’t forget that we have faced down challenges in the past, just look at crop yield in terms of what growers have achieved in UK up by 60%. All of this demonstrates that we can work together and make things better as an industry
“We are always challenging ourselves as an industry, increasing our yields and making our factories more reliable. We should be confident that we can well in the future by working together. It is really important that we are able to compete in a reasonably challenging marketplace.
Dr Andrew Francis went on to talk about the future of the sugar industry: “World consumption is set to increase 2% annually. Recent production has exceeded supply for four years, contributing to the highest absolute stock levels seen. Long term, 60 million tonnes are needed in the next 15 years based on demand forecast.
Timothé Masson, Executive Secretary of the World Association of Beet Cane Growers (WABCG): “The WABCG represent more than 30% of world production. The WABCG bring together growers across the world to share information and experiences to improve the sector.”
William Martin concluded by saying: “We share the view that there is a bright prospect for sugar growers in the UK. One option is that a beet price could be directly linked to the global sugar price but this may mean a contract for several years. From our point of view choice is really important. For growers who want to continue to have the stability of a fixed price contract, that option is not disappearing."
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