Jordan Guitton, a member of the French parliament from the populist National Unity party, has questioned the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry on sugar imports from Ukraine.
He states, “The General Confederation of Sugar Beet Growers (CGB) Champagne Bourgogne warns of the consequences of the war in Ukraine on the sugarbeet sector. Indeed, the rate of sugarbeet imports from Ukraine has increased from 20,000 tonnes to 400,000 tonnes in 2022-2023 and then to 700,000 tonnes in 2023, thus causing sugar prices in the European Union to drop by 30 percent.
“This drop in prices has a direct impact on French sugarbeet growers. In addition to not protecting the French sugarbeet sector, the European Union authorizes the import of sugarbeet that does not comply with the standards imposed on French sugarbeet producers.
“Indeed, 29 active substances (fungicides, insecticides, herbicides) can be used in Ukraine while they are banned in the European Union. The European Parliament has just decided to limit the number of beet imports from Ukraine (260,000 tonnes per year), but only for 2024-2025. The Member of Parliament would like to know whether the Minister intends to act quickly to protect beet producers from 2024, after more than two years of inaction. He would also like to know whether France finally intends to impose the same production standards on Ukraine as in France.”