The Editor, Sir:

I recently heard the president of the Sugar Association of the Caribbean (SAC), Karl James, on a radio programme stating his association's intention to challenge the recent decision by the European Commission to abolish the existing Caribbean sugar quota and price regime by September 2009. While I understand the negative effect that this decision will have on the sector in the short to medium term, it could be argued that this is exactly what the sugar producing sector needed to reinvent itself in the face of the new global reality.

I suspect that the SAC will probably seek to challenge the European Commission's decision at the WTO on the grounds that Europe excessively subsidises its own sugar exports. This was the route taken by Australia, Brazil and Thailand back in 2004 in whose favour the WTO ruled. But, ironically, a ruling in the Caribbean's favour will not necessarily put the sugar sector on any better footing than it is now. In fact, all it will do is delay, perhaps for another decade,the much-needed modernisation and marketing effort that it will take to truly revamp the Caribbean sugar sector.

As I understand it, the present EU proposal will grant Caribbean sugar producers full access to the European market duty-free and with no pre-set quotas by 2015. Under this "duty free, quota free" (DFQF) system Caribbean sugar producers will be able to sell as much sugar as they can produce onto the lucrative European market which has a population of 460 million and a 13.8 trillion economy. I suggest that the sugar producers, instead of wasting the next five or more years fighting a costly legal battle at the WTO, use the time between now and 2015 to source financing, improve operations (with a view to increasing efficiency) and forge partnerships with European importers.This is a wonderful opportunity which should be looked at seriously.

Enormous opportunities

The fact is that the world is changing and with change comes enormous opportunities. I am sure that if the SAC should accept the present arrangement the Caribbean sugar sector would be better off in the long run. Of course, there would need to be further consolidation and some very small players would cease to operate as we have seen with the St. Kitts sugar industry. In fact, we could very well see the Caribbean having two or three major players who are able to produce large quantities of high quality, competitively priced sugar and sugar derivatives for the world market. Many of the low-paying, back-breaking jobs will be eliminated but that is the only way the Caribbean will remain serious players in the global sugar industry.

The SAC and all involved should now be wrapping their collective minds around the issue and seeing how best they can go about taking advantage of this situation and milking it for what its worth. Anything less will result in the death of old King Sugar and the complete removal of sugar as a significant contributor to regional GDP as the sector buckles and eventually folds under its own inefficiency and failure to adapt. Seeking to hang on in the present situation will only make the change, which is now indisputably inevitable, more protracted and painful.

I am, etc.,

CHAD COWAN

cowan.chad@gmail.com

Howard University, Washington DC

Via Go-Jamaica