Caribbean Sugar Producers

Diane quizzed Mr Straw on new cuts in sugar subsidies and asked him to make sure that they will not disadvantage Caribbean producers. She also demanded that sufficient money be put aside for the adequate transitional arrangements to be instituted.

Mr Straw said that the government is sympathetic to the concerns raised by Miss Abbott and that it has been “pushing the European Union for cushioning support with a two-year phase-in”.

Diane said: “The situation is extremely worrying. No funds have yet been agreed. Mr Straw told me that a sum of money for 2006 has been proposed, however, sufficient provision for the ACP countries from 2007 onwards has yet to be agreed by the EU.” She added: “I am very concerned about maintaining the trade privileges of our traditional allies in the Caribbean. The price of sugar will drop drastically. This is a double whammy blow for countries like Jamaica that export both sugar and bananas since the EU has also cut banana prices. The impact of WTO free trade policies on the Caribbean economies could be catastrophic.”

Diane went on: “To me it does look like a betrayal of sugar farmers in the ACP group. They will be much less able than European farmers to cope with the drastic price drop. We are sacrificing the further development of poor nations to satisfy the WTO’s free but unfair trade ideals. I will continue to put pressure on the government to make sure they lengthen the transition period to allow Caribbean farmers to adjust to the significant changes.”

She added: “Policies of free trade and liberalisation are not the answer to world poverty. In fact they risk further impoverishing Caribbean countries, like Jamaica, whose major agricultural exports are sugar and bananas. We have to be aware that there will be a knock-on effect of the devastation of the rural economies in the Caribbean. People will have to find alterative ways of making a living and the most unfortunate will fall into crime. Britain and the EU are not immune to rising crime in the Caribbean. Crime in a globalised world will inevitably travel to our cities.”

She concluded: “I urge the EU to reconsider turning their backs on the countries that have supplied them with sugar and bananas for decades.”

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