Imports of Ukrainian sugar to the European Union (EU) last season increased tenfold, and at the beginning of the current season (2023/2024), the growth trend continued at the expense of Brazil, which is about to lose its position. as the largest supplier of sugar to the EU bloc, according to data published on Friday by the European Commission (EC), Reuters reports.

According to statistics, Ukrainian sugar imports to the EU reached 413 thousand tons in the 2022-2023 season, which ended on September 30, 2023, from only 40 thousand tons in the 2021-2022 season.

As with other raw materials, the EU lifted tariffs on Ukrainian sugar imports after the start of the Russian invasion, prompting a wave of criticism from local producers who complain of unfair competition.

Ukraine’s share of total sugar imports into the EU, which rose to 16% last season, continued to grow at the beginning of the current 2023-2024 season, reaching 38% of total imports in October and the first three weeks of November, the European Commission said. .

Over the same period, the share of Brazil, the world’s largest sugar producer, fell to 8% from 32% for the entire 2022-2023 season.

Romania accounted for a third of Ukrainian sugar imports from the EU

Data from the EU executive show that almost a third of Ukraine’s sugar imports in the 2022-2023 season came from Romania, followed by Poland, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria, all with smaller shares.

Overall, the EU significantly widened its sugar deficit in 2022-2023 as white sugar imports rose by more than 70% to 2.6 million tonnes, while exports fell by 23% to 801,000 tonnes.

A sugar shortage in the Union, which followed a poor sugar beet harvest in the EU bloc, pushed EU prices to a record high last season, and the upward trend continued in October when it hit a new high. an all-time high of €810/t, up €255 from last year.

Earlier this week, sugar beet producers in France called for the re-export of sharply increasing sugar imports to Ukraine outside of Europe, so as not to harm local producers.

In the new season, the amount may double

EU sugar imports from Ukraine may reach 700-800 thousand tons in the 2023-2024 season, the Association of French Sugar Beet Producers (CGB) announced at a press conference on Tuesday. The amount will be almost double compared to the previous season’s imports.

“We need a clear answer from the European Commission on how it will manage this influx of sugar in the future,” the Central Bank of Ukraine emphasized.

The sugar producers’ demands follow similar tensions caused by Ukraine’s grain export boom, which prompted several Eastern European member states to ban purchases of Ukrainian grain on the grounds that it affects domestic prices.

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