Potential restrictions on sugar access risk undermining EU exports of sugar-containing products

CIUS expresses serious concern regarding ongoing policy discussions on the potential suspension of Inward Processing (IPR) for sugar, with a proposal expected to be published on 30 April.

The European Union has long been a global leader in the export of sugar-containing products, including confectionery, chocolate, baked goods, fruit preserves and soft drinks. However, recent trade data indicate increasing pressure on export performance in these sectors, pointing to a growing structural competitiveness gap between EU producers and their international counterparts.

Against this backdrop, any measure that further restricts access to competitively priced sugar risks exacerbating existing challenges. Sugar-using industries across the EU are already facing elevated input costs, intense global competition and shifting demand patterns. Limiting access to sugar under inward processing arrangements would add further strain at a particularly sensitive time.

The EU sugar market remains structurally dependent on imports to meet the needs of industrial users across all regions. While EU sugar producers are active and competitive on global markets, sugar-using industries continue to face significantly higher input costs than many of their international competitors. This imbalance directly undermines the export competitiveness of sectors for which sugar is a key raw material.

Recent trends already suggest stagnation or decline in exports across several sugar-intensive product categories, highlighting a broader structural issue:

• Additional restrictions on sugar access risk further weakening the competitiveness of EU food and drink manufacturers;
• They may accelerate the decline in export volumes of sugar-containing products;
• They could incentivise the relocation of production and investment outside the European Union;
• They risk undermining the resilience of the EU agri-food value chain.

Beyond immediate cost implications, policy uncertainty also weighs heavily on business confidence. Sudden or insufficiently justified regulatory changes risk discouraging investment and reducing the attractiveness of the EU as a production base for globally traded food products.

CIUS also underlines the important role of sugar-using industries in supporting European agriculture. A significant share of agricultural raw materials is processed into higher value-added goods and exported globally, generating income and employment across the entire food chain.

CIUS President Yury Sharanov stated:
"EU exports of sugar-containing products, from chocolate and biscuits to soft drinks and jams, rely on access to raw materials at globally competitive prices. Additional constraints risk accelerating the decline in export volumes and could increasingly shift production and investment outside the European Union."

In light of these considerations, CIUS calls on policymakers to:

• safeguard access to sugar at competitive conditions;
• avoid measures that further distort the level playing field with global competitors;
• ensure that any policy decisions are based on robust economic evidence.

Maintaining a competitive environment for sugar-using industries is essential to safeguard EU export performance and to preserve the resilience and value creation of Europe's broader agri-food chain in an increasingly competitive global economy.

Full Press Release is available here.