Media release

Australian Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile

Tuesday, October 10, 2000

Vaile Supports Sugar Reform Alliance

"The Federal Government strongly supports the Australian sugar industry's efforts to build international support for reform of the highly distorted global sugar market," Trade Minister Mark Vaile said today.

Mr Vaile was addressing the Global Alliance for Sugar Trade Reform Conference in Banff, Canada, held in conjunction with the Cairns Group Ministerial Meeting.

"Agriculture remains the most distorted of all sectors of international trade, and sugar is among the worst affected in agriculture," Mr Vaile said.

"Protection and subsidies in Europe and the US pervert the entire basis of the global sugar market. A global alliance of efficient producers is necessary if we are to achieve significant reform of the damaging policies that have reduced world prices to crippling lows and unfairly lowered returns to efficient sugar farmers."

The Global Alliance was formed last year as an international coalition of sugar producers committed to removing protectionist sugar policies in big markets such as Europe and the United States.

Mr Vaile highlighted the fact that European export subsidy entitlements to sugar producers totalled $US400 million annually, and US sugar costs its consumers twice the world price due to generous price subsidies and restrictions on imports.

"Clearly, these figures highlight the unfairness of such trade-distorting policies, particularly for countries with highly efficient industries," Mr Vaile said.

Mr Vaile said the Global Alliance's priorities were well in line with the Cairns Group's proposals for agriculture trade liberalisation.

"The Cairns Group is putting forward the same priorities as the sugar industry - stripping back market access restrictions, and eliminating the market-corrupting effect of price and export subsidies - into the current WTO negotiations," Mr Vaile said.

"May I also take this opportunity to congratulate the various sugar industry organisations from Queensland and New South Wales represented here at the Global Alliance Conference in Banff. Their efforts in the pursuit of trade reform is acknowledged and I look forward to their ongoing involvement in assisting us throughout this process."

Local Date: Friday, 21-Nov-2008 01:58:16 EST