Sugar Marketing & Trade
Issues
- The Queensland sugar industry has benefited through its single desk approach to marketing, which provides the ability to manage supply, obtain premia and provide transparency in pricing. It has been predicated that statutory marketing arrangements will be removed when the Sugar Industry Act is reviewed in 2006. There is therefore a need to ensure that new arrangements maximise income for the industry, retain benefits of centralised marketing and allow participants flexibility in production and delivery. The world market for sugar is corrupted by domestic support policies in overseas countries and trade barriers. The world food industry is becoming more demanding, with requirements for traceability and guarantees of environmentally sustainable practices in production.
Objective
To ensure that Queensland sugar producers maximise returns by efficient marketing and selling of sugar and a fair world market place.
Policies
Role of statutory marketing authorities
- Support marketing arrangements based on efficiency and competitiveness that maximise the market power of producers. Recognise some marketing arrangements must be supported by industry regulation, either self-regulation or statutory. Continue to support moves to remove protection and subsidies in major sugar producing and consuming countries. This includes support for the Global Sugar Alliance, for the inclusion in sugar liberalisation in multilateral trade negotiations and appropriate inclusion of sugar in bilateral arrangements.
Sugar brands and quality
- Queensland Sugar Limited should maximise industry income through the provision of particular brands of sugar appropriate to individual markets provided that the remuneration from these markets is such that the supply of particular types of sugar is commercially viable. Differentiation maybe through any of combination of the following:
- Purity
- Quality characteristics
- Production processes (e.g.; environmental certification, organic, GMO status)
- Mills, collectively or individually, should be neither advantaged nor disadvantaged financially as a result of Queensland Sugar Limited requiring them to produce any particular brand of sugar.
- That comprehensive industry information on raw sugar quality performance be made available to all mill areas and CANEGROWERS
- That QSL should have the ability that, when a new market is identified for a particular product, a separate pool may be established for participants in that particular product.
Operation of QSL
- That the pricing and risk management strategy of QSL be set in consultation with industry participants.
- That QSL should operate the advances program so as to disperse funds as they are received and not become involved in significant borrowings or large cash holdings.
Sugar terminals
- That ownership of Sugar Terminals Limited be retained in the hands of active grower and active miller shareholders.
- That the costs of operating terminals continue to be pooled so long as sales continue to be made on an industry basis.
