French producers ask the EC to limit the import of Ukrainian sugar to the EU.

French sugar beet producers are demanding that increasingly larger imports of sugar from Ukraine be re-exported outside of Europe so as not to harm local producers.

Ukrainian sugar exports to the EU may reach 700,000-800,000 tons in the 2023-2024 season. According to the EC, this would be about double the previous season’s imports and well above the average of 21,500 tones for the five years before that. Earlier, Ukraine announced it would limit sugar exports to 650,000 tons in all directions this season.

“We need a clear answer from the EC regarding the future management of this influx of sugar,” French producers say.

Meanwhile, despite the increase in imports from Ukraine, sugar prices in the EU remain high against the background of a global shortage of this product. According to the EU, domestic prices for white sugar are over €800 per ton, the highest in ten years.