Kicker: Farmers down under celebrate deal
By Caroline Stocks
THE first imports of Australian sugar for more than 40 years are expected to reach the UK by the summer, officials at Tate & Lyle have said.
Gerald Mason, the processors senior vice-president, said the company was looking forward to resurrecting its trading relationship with Australian sugar farmers one that once saw 20 per cent of its raw materials come from down under.
Speaking during a visit from Australias agriculture minister Murray Watt to Tate & Lyles London refinery last week (January 17), Mr Mason said Australian sugar had been a massive part of the UK sugar market until the countrys membership of the EU put a stop to trade.
He said they wanted to buy more, not because of the price, but because it meets the highest ethical and environmental standards in the world.
Senator Watt, who has been touring other European countries promoting Australian agricultures sustainability credentials, said he was in London to 'push along the Australian-UK Free Trade Agreement.
We are having lots of meetings over the next couple of days to convince the UK parliament to get this legislation passed, he added.
We obviously want to get these sales into the UK as quickly as possible and companies like Tate & Lyle are pretty keen to get that product as well.
Australias National Farmers Federation president Fiona Simson, who accompanied Mr Watts visit, said a free-trade deal between the two countries was a huge win-win for Tate & Lyle, consumers and Australian sugar growers.
The UK-Australia free-trade deal has been widely criticised in the UK, with former Defra secretary George Eustice saying it gave away too much for far too little in return.
Michael Sly, the NFU sugar board chair, said: We raised our concerns about the introduction of tariff-free, quota-free access Australian sugar would be given under the UK-Australia trade deal and the impact this would have on British sugar beet growers back in 2021.
UK sugar beet growers are subject to very different regulatory standards compared to other growers around the world. Government should ensure that any future trade deals must not undermine our ability to compete with these growers.
