Senate committee alarmed by efforts to harmonize sugar sector with EU

The situation on the sugar market has alarmed the Senate's Agricultural and Rural Development Commission prompting it to call a special sitting on Tuesday to discuss the issue. The Central Statistical Office (GUS) is forecasting a slump in sugar beet production due to a decrease in the number of contracts being signed by sugar mills with farmers. This has caused the price of sugar on the domestic market to increase three-fold in the past year. The high price consumers are willing to pay has encouraged German firms to export substantial quantities to Poland. The senators have criticized the Sugar Act of 1994 for not accomplishing its aim of adapting the sugar sector to European Union (EU) standards. According to GUS, Poland exported 228,600 tonnes of sugar in the first half of this year, while imports stood at 35,300 tonnes. The largest importers of Polish sugar were Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Russia. As for imports, besides Germany, Poland also bought sugar from Rumania. (Rzeczpospolita, page B2) S.M.