The future of global sugar markets: Policies, reforms, and impact

"Sugar is one of the most highly protected agricultural commodities worldwide. This protection depresses trade opportunities and the prices received by exporters without preferential market access. For this reason, dialogues about sugar policy are often polarized and short sound bites caustic. Yet today's sugar markets are being driven by a complex array of dynamic and emerging supply, demand, and policy forces that need to be understood. A number of these forces have the potential to reshape the global market scene. Recent sugar policy reforms in the European Union (EU) have received little attention in North America but may turn the EU into a net importer, with substantial compensation paid to its farmers and displaced processing facilities. High oil prices and the related ethanol boom place Brazil at the fulcrum of new market developments. In the United States, corn sweetener and sugar markets are being integrated with Mexican markets under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), raising the question of whether the EU reforms provide a template for new policies. And among developing countries in Africa and elsewhere there are low-cost producers that would benefit from more open trade but others who would be disadvantaged by the loss of preferential markets. This discussion paper presents the proceedings of a one-day conference that served as a forum for the discussion of these and other critical issues affecting global sugar markets, policies, and reform options. The conference was attended by 60 representatives of governments, research institutions, producers and processors from the sugar sector, and other groups interested in sugar markets and policies. The four papers were presented by internationally recognized experts from the EU, Brazil, the United States, and South Africa. Discussion openers and general discussion at the conference added further policy insights, and the papers were edited and revised after the conference to reflect the dialogue that had occurred." from authors' abstractsugar, Ethanol, NAFTA, WTO, Trade policy,

Examining the South Africa–China agricultural trading relationship

In recent years, Africa has emerged as a dominant region in China’s foreign policy. As an emerging center of economic growth in the world economy, China is striving towards establishing a stronger footprint in Africa than ever before. The need to understand this rapprochement has been exacerbated by the current financial crisis.With focus on agricultural trade, this book uses empirical data spanning up to year end 2007 to explain the potential benefits of China growing trade in Africa on South Africa’s economy. The studies cover both China and South Africa’s positions as importer and exporter of agricultural products in each other’s markets. In doing so, they have carefully analyzed data from Chinese and South African sources. In order to give a fresh perspective to the analyses, a section of the work has been devoted to the nature of non-tariff barriers that face South Africa’s exporters into the Chinese market.CONTENTS List of Tables -- List of Figures -- Abbreviations and Acronyms -- Acknowledgements -- Foreword -- 1. Introduction 1.1 Background 1.2 Objective and Outline of the Paper -- 2. The Trading Background: China and South Africa 2.1 Overview of China's Aggregate Trade 2.1.1 China's Exports 2.1.2 China's Imports 2.2 Overview of South Africa's Aggregate Trade 2.2.1 South Africa's Exports 2.2.2 South Africa’s Imports 2.3 Reconciliation of Data on Trade between China and South Africa 2.4 China’s Agricultural Trade 2.4.1 China’s Agricultural Imports 2.4.2 China’s Agricultural Exports 2.5 South Africa’s Agricultural Trade 2.5.1 South Africa’s Agricultural Trade with the World 2.5.2 South Africa’s Agricultural Trade with China 2.5.3 Competition Dynamics in China’s Market 2.5.4 Factors Limiting South Africa’s Exports to China -- 3. Modelling the Possible Role of Chinese Imports in Stimulating Future South African Exports 3.1 The GTAP Model 3.2 Findings from a GTAP Simulation of a SACU-China Free Trade Agreement 3.2.1 Projected Changes in Trade Flows 3.2.2 Projected Welfare Impact 3.3 Limitations of the GTAP Model 3.4 Findings from Extended Econometric Analysis 3.4.1 The BFAP Model 3.4.2 The PROVIDE Model 3.5 Concluding comments -- 4. Non-tariff Barriers (NTBs) 4.1 An overview of NTBs 4.2 Assessment of NTBs 4.3 Specific NTBs against Agricultural Exports to China and their Impact 4.3.1 Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs) 4.3.2 State Trading Enterprises 4.3.3 Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 4.3.3 Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 4.3.3 Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures -- 5. Identifying NTBs on Western Cape Fruit Producers to China: A Survey 5.1 Methodology and Instrumentation 5.2 Overview of NTBs against Western Cape Exports of Fruits to China and their Impact 5.2.2 Logistics and Cold Sterilisation Requirements 5.2.3 Registration of Orchards, Documentation 5.3 Comparable Overview of NTBs against Australia’s Exports to China 5.3.1 Wool 5.3.2 Horticulture and Wine 5.3.3 Meat and other Animal Products 5.4 Perceived Costs of Doing Business with China 5.4.1 More Costly Logistics 5.4.2 Lack of Distribution Channels 5.4.3 Accreditation Period 5.4.4 High Import Tariffs 5.4.5 More Experienced Competing Players 5.4.6 Other Constraints -- 6. Conclusions -- References -- Annexe