International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Sugar is one of the most highly-protected agricultural commodities worldwide. This protection depresses trade opportunities and prices received by exporters without preferential market access. For this reason, dialogues about sugar policy are often polarized and short sound bites caustic. Yet, today's sugar markets are being driven by a complex array of dynamic and emerging supply, demand and policy forces that need to be understood.
Even with the WTO trade negotiations stalled, these forces have the potential to reshape the global market scene. Recent sugar policy reforms in the European Union have received little attention in the United States but may turn the EU into a net importer, with substantial compensation paid to its farmers and displaced processing facilities. High oil prices and the related ethanol boom place Brazil at the fulcrum of new market developments. For the United States, corn sweetener and sugar markets are being integrated with Mexico under NAFTA, raising the question of whether the EU reforms provide a template for new policies. And among developing countries, there are low-cost producers that would benefit from more open trade, but others who would be jolted by loss of preferential markets.
This one-day conference provides a forum for discussion of these and other issues affecting global sugar markets, policies and reform options. Papers will be presented by internationally recognized experts from the EU, Brazil, the United States and South Africa. Discussion openers and ample time provided for general discussion will add further policy insights.