Finland and sugar-producing developing countries share certain common interests

In view of the pressures for change in the EU's common organisation of the market for sugar, most of the sugar-producing countries of the Community, including Finland, wish to hold on to their own sugar production. This is also the case in the developing countries, where sugar represents a significant share of the foreign trade.

The working group dealing with the future of sugar production in Finland submitted its final report to Minister Korkeaoja in November 2004. The sugar strategy presents measures which would make it possible for the cultivation of sugar beets and sugar production to continue in Finland. Finland is the northernmost sugar-producing country, which shares common interests in this matter with the developing countries.

Full liberalisation of the sugar trade would benefit neither the developing countries nor Finland. So far the ACP countries have been able to import sugar to the EU for the EU price up to a certain quota and they have constructed their production based on this arrangement. This means that any significant reduction in the sugar price would be a serious setback to their production. The least developed countries (LDCs) also wish that their possibilities to benefit from sugar imports to the EU markets will not be weakened.

Finland considers that the sugar prices and quotas should only be reduced as much as required for trade policy reasons.