§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 11 January 1999,Official Report, column 120, what assessment he has made of the extent of competition within the UK sugar industry; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the sugar import levy on that competition. [66671]
§ Mr. RookerI have made no assessment of the extent of competition within the UK sugar industry. This is a matter for the competition authorities.
EU import tariffs restrict imports of sugar from third countries, with the important exception of some 1.6 million tonnes per annum under preferential agreements with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and India, most of which come to the UK. In accordance with the Uruguay Round agreements, these tariffs will have to be cut by 20 per cent. by 2000–01.
The Government believe that the EU sugar regime imposes unnecessarily high prices on consumers and sugar-using industries, and will be seeking significant changes when it comes up for reform in 2001.