The Sugar Association of the Caribbean (SAC) has lamented that over two-thirds of the sugar consumed in the region comes from outside of it, and the imports, garnered duty-free, are displacing market opportunities for over 200,000 metric tonnes of CARICOM sugar.
An SAC release noted that despite the fact that CARICOM industries are in the position to cater to the demands of the region, their products are forced onto the low value global market.
The SAC reported that its members are projected to produce around 450,000 metric tonnes of sugar this year. However, it was noted that to date, the region has exported 133,000 tonnes of sugar to the EU market at global market prices, while duty-free imports are being dumped into the CARICOM market at less than half the price they’re valued in their home markets.
