Dramatic change on sugar market - from overloaded to empty warehouses

After their worst year in a decade in 1999, Polish sugar mills have made a stunning recovery thanks to prohibitive customs duties and a surge in the price of sugar on global markets and are now experiencing a supply shortage. Last year the mills were facing huge stockpiles of unsold sugar with prices at rock bottom. Confronted with a 400,000 tonne supply of sugar the mills even resolved to break the law and sell below the government set minimum price of zl. 1.7 per kilogram. However, after the government raised customs duties and global sugar prices rose from $180 per tonne to $280, sugar mills sold off all their excess supply and right now, a month before the harvest season, their warehouses are almost empty. This is why they are considering starting harvesting early. The government meanwhile is pondering another solution - temporary suspension of customs duties. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 19)