Inclusion of sugar in Doha Round sought

The Global Alliance for Sugar Trade Reform and Liberalisation is seeking inclusion of sugar in the Doha Round agricultural negotiations.

Seeking support on the matter from the Indian authorities, a delegation has met ministers and senior officials in the ministeries of finance, petroleum, agriculture and commerce.

In a memorandum submitted to the Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, the Global Alliance has stated, "for the full and proper inclusion of sugar in the Doha Round agricultural negotiations. We will work tirelessly with you to achieve this outcome and would welcome your participation in our activities at the Hong Kong WTO Ministerial Meeting in December 2005."

The Alliance feels the inclusion of sugar in the Doha round will reform the domestic sugar industries particularly in the developed economies, reducing the distortions of their ugar subsidies on the world market. Also, it may increase world demand and market opportunities for cane sugar producers.

Sugar has been sidelined by USA, EU and Japan, as a sensitive product in trade negotiations, said SL Jain, director general of Indian Sugar Mills Association.

He added that India will benefit from the improved world sugar trade environment. With less subsidised sugar on the world market, the export opportunities will increase for the sugar industry. This will also increase the profits of producers.

The Global Sugar Alliance members include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, South Africa and Thailand. Together, these countries represent 85 per cent of world's sugar exports.

The central objective of the Global Sugar Alliance is fair and equal treatment of sugar along with other agricultural products in the WTO Doha Round trade negotiations.

Alliance preparing to take on the US

The Global Sugar Alliance is now preparing to fight against the domestic subsidy in the US for the sector.

The alliance feels that this is not permissible under the WTO norms and must be done away with like the one in EU.

Earlier, three members of the Global Alliance, namely Brazil, Australia and Thailand had accused the EU of breaking trade rules by providing sugar subsidies in excess of the WTO permissible limits.

The WTO had upheld the complaint saying that by breaking the agreed limits on export subsidies, the EU was hurting developing countries by undercutting their producers' prices.