By Leonardo Blair, Staff ReporterCHAIRMAN OF the All-Island Jamaica Cane Farmers' Association Allan Rickards yesterday described the visit of Gareth Thomas, permanent undersecretary of state for the Department of International Development (DFID) in the United Kingdom, to the island last Thursday as an affront to sugar industry players.
"Nobody invited us. We are extremely angry and upset that he could come here and gather information on the industry and make statements and not even make contact with any of us," said Mr. Rickards.
During his visit, Mr. Thomas visited several sugar-dependent communities in Clarendon where he said the importance of the income generated by the sugar industry was 'brought home' to him.
"This (visit) has brought home to me the huge dependence of a whole series of communities that depend on the sugar industry," Mr. Thomas told reporters. "Instead of it being an academic discussion it has brought home the impact of the price cuts in very powerful messages."
Mr. Thomas, who was making his first visit to the island, told journalists that while the U.K. could not prevent the proposed EU price cuts, he will be attempting through his office to soften the blow as much as possible.
In the meantime, Ambassador Derrick Heaven, executive chairman of the Sugar Industry Authority (SIA), is expected to press for a suspension of the proposed price cuts to the region until 2008.
He will be meeting with EU
parliamentarians in Brussels, Belgium, tomorrow.
Ambassador Heaven will be addressing a joint hearing on 'The Reform of the EU's Common Market Organisation for Sugar' organised by the Committee on Agriculture, the Committee on International Trade, and the Committee on the Development of the European Parliament.
Mr. Rickards explained that among several points, the Ambassador is expected to call for no changes in the EU pricing regime before 2008.
"What he will be pressing for is no change in the pricing regime before 2008. He will also be having further discussions as to what those changes should be and the timing of those changes," said Mr. Rickards.
Under its reformed sugar regime, the EU is currently proposing to reduce the price paid to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states for sugar sold on the European market. The European Commission proposes that from 2005 to 2006, ACP sugar producers would be paid $41,217 (506 euros) per tonne, down 20 per cent from this year's $51,281 (632 euros) per tonne. For 2006/2007 there will be no adjustment, while for 2007/2008 there will be a further 16 per cent reduction, which would see the price paid for sugar move from $41,217 (506 euros) per ton to $34,294 (421 euros).
