The EU plans to modify its market access to include sugar
Modifying European market access for the Mercosur bloc to include sugar could imperil as many as 140,000 farmers, European farm bodies have warned.
The European Commission has been urged to reject any attempt to include sugar in the revised trade offer to Mercosur, which compromises four Latin American countries - Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The EU plans to modify its market access during the next round of trade talks, scheduled between 4 and 10 December.
The trade bodies, which includes agricultural co-operative Copa Cogeca, which the NFU is part of, said the Commission "risks once again" a failure to maintain a firm line on sugar in its trade negotiations.
"EU sugar beet growers, sugar producers, and workers stand determined: we will not pay for the offensive interests of other industrial sectors or for those of the Brazilian state-supported sugar-ethanol regime," Copa Cogeca said in a statement.
European Beet Growers (CIBE) President Bernhard Conzen explained: “The European Commission is actually asking beet growers and processors to make sacrifices for Brazilian interests, which is totally unacceptable. Ever higher standards for ever lower prices for us, and ultimately importing lower standards, is incomprehensible and a nonsense for farmers. This must stop or we are heading for a major and very painful crisis.”
Livelihoods at risk
The farm bodies warn that the further opening of the EU sugar market would severely damage the beet sugar sector, and would imperil many of the 140,000 farmers, 30,000 employees, and hundreds of rural communities whose livelihoods depend on the sector.
The risk of further factory closures is high, warned European Association of Sugar Producers (CEFS) President Johann Marihart. He said this would have serious consequences for the vulnerable rural areas supported by the jobs and employment that beet sugar production provides.
“There is no level playing field between the EU and Brazil; the Commission continues to dream that our sector is able to handle further opening up of the market without consequences, and continues to hide from reality: this is irresponsible,” Mr Marihart explained.
“The Commission might as well tell us which factories in the EU would have to close.”
'Wake up'
The threat of a Mercosur trade deal has spurred on UK farming bodies to heavily criticise the EU for its failure to ignore farmers' wishes.
The European Commission is set to increase its beef quota offer to 70,000 tonnes for the potential trade agreement with the Latin American bloc.
EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström has said that reaching a deal by Christmas is "realistic" and that there is "very strong support" for it in the EU.
But Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) president Barclay Bell said UK politicians and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are being urged to "wake up" to the "threat" of the Mercosur trade negotiations on European food safety, animal welfare and the environment.
He said: “South American countries do not come close to matching the food safety, animal welfare or environmental standards which farmers comply with in the UK and across Europe.
“It is scandalous that the European Commission is prepared to offer Mercosur increased concessions to export substandard agricultural products such as beef into the EU.”