EU sugar sector set for more change

The EU’s sugar sector is seeing unprecedented volatility resulting from the combination of rising global sugar prices coupled with the consequences of the recent restructuring and downsizing of EU sugar production.

Further challenges lie ahead, says a Rabobank report. The current EU sugar regime officially remains in place until September 2015. Companies in the industry are likely to face a more open, competitive and possibly quota-free environment after this date, says the report.

New players could enter the market and while large and diversified processors will probably grow, smaller operators in areas where the competitiveness of beet is questionable relative to that of other crops will face a much less certain future.