Sugar

• Author: Edwin Laurent
• Pages: 59-69

59

Sugar

SUGAR

55

55

5

For centuries many Caribbean countries had earned their livelihoods

from the production of cane sugar and their social, political and economic

history and life have been defined by its production and export to Europe.

Sugar exports to the European Union were made possible by special guaranteed

preferential arrangements enshrined in the Sugar Protocol of the ACP-EU

Cotonou Agreement. The Protocol is of indefinite duration, so that its

provisions are not dependent on the Cotonou Agreement. The secure earnings

from this trade contributed to stability of rural incomes and earnings from

sugar exports, which were the foundation for national economic growth and

development. However, threats to the regulatory basis on which this trade

operated began emerging within the last decade. The background and the

recent experiences and challenges that faced Caribbean exports and those of

other ACP producers are explored in this chapter.

The Sugar Protocol

The sugar industry is a dominant force in the economies of most of the

ACP supplying States. The following chart summarises its contribution to

foreign earnings and employment.