The Spectator, in association with Tate & Lyle Sugars, brought together MPs, representatives from Tate & Lyle, the Fairtrade Foundation and the Australian High Commissioner to discuss the future of the UK sugar sector following Brexit. This is a report of the discussion which followed.
The sugar industry is an interesting case study for the opportunities as well as the challenges which could result from Britain’s departure from the EU. At present, 50 to 60 per cent of the sugar consumed in Britain comes from sugar beet grown and processed in this country. The industry has been subsidised since before Britain joined the EU and subsidy has continued under EU membership (not directly but via farm subsidies). It is also protected by tariffs on sugar imported from outside the EU, while prices within the EU have been kept high through quotas on sugar beet production – although in a development which has nothing to do with Brexit, the EU has now lifted these quotas.
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