New EU regulations could have negative impact on Polish juice exports

The European Commission is planning to increase customs duties on imports of some Polish juices, under a ruling that states that juices with a high sugar content should be classified as syrups. Until now, the law did not differentiate among juices based on their sugar content levels. But now the commission has decided that all juices with 60% or more sugar content will be liable to higher duties than those with less sugar, arguing that some exporters are not selling juices, but in fact syrups, which can be watered down and sold in greater quantities. The regulation could have a negative impact on exports of Polish apple juice, which reached 152,000 tons in 2000, and generated income of $100 million. It is estimated that 26,000 tons of the total were juices with a sugar content exceeding 60%. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 18) A.K.