Bitter harvest: sugar
Picture
two men:
on the one hand Lord de Ramsey, an English aristocrat worth £35
million with 9,000 acres and an 18th century manor house; on the
other Ignacio Albano, earning less than £300 a year cutting sugar cane
for
12
a hours a day in rural Mozambique to support his parents and 4 brothers.
The link between the two and the reason why one has continued to increase his wealth while the other faces losing what he has, is the £1.34 billion-a-year EU sugar regime. This guarantees the price of sugar beet grown on Lord de Ramsey's land and prevents cheaper imports from outside EU member states. But for Ignacio this regime means that, despite having higher yields and lower production costs, Mozambique cannot sell its sugar within the EU because of huge import duties.
EU companies are also given export refunds, allowing them to dump more than 5 million tons of sugar outside its border each year.
Proposals are afoot to change this iniquitous system, but it is feared the reforms will be diluted by powerful lobbying by the sugar industry.
So what can we do?
- Continue to campaign for trade justice.
- Buy and use Fairtrade sugar.
- Spread the word.
Fairtrade sugar is now quite widely available locally.
- from your Traidcraft rep (5 Traidcraft varieties: Golden Raw Cane, Demerara, Golden Caster, Dark Muscovado, plus Golden Organic Raw Cane)
- from your local Coop Late Shop in Deepdale, Plungington, Ingol, or Larches (Coop White Granulated)
- from Booth's (Billington's Fairtrade Golden Granulated Cane, Billington's Fairtrade Demerara Cane)
- from Sainsbury's (Billington's Fairtrade Golden Granulated Cane)
(NB: Not all Billington's products are Fairtrade. Look for the Fairtrade Mark.)
Lord, make us restless for change, refusing to submit to political realities where life and death are bought in the market place, and daring to work for the coming of your kingdom where the world is reshaped in the image of Christ. Amen.
Note
Fairtrade products are not only available in the UK, but also in many other EU countries, particularly in the Netherlands and France. Have a look at the following websites to get more information:
