EU considers suspending duty-free sugar imports to support producers amid price slump 

EU – The European Commission is planning to propose the suspension of duty-free sugar imports under the inward processing relief (IPR) scheme, a move aimed at easing pressure on European sugar producers grappling with falling prices and rising competition. 

European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen said the measure would be temporary but did not provide a timeline. “I will propose a temporary suspension of the sugar inward processing regime to ease pressures on sugar producers,” Hansen said. 

The IPR scheme allows companies to import sugar into the European Union at zero duty and without volume limits, provided the sugar is refined or processed into food products and subsequently re-exported outside the bloc. European producers argue that rising imports under the scheme have worsened oversupply in an already weak market. 

According to European Commission data, raw sugar imports under the IPR reached 587,000 metric tons in the 2024/25 marketing year, representing a 19% increase compared with the previous year. Of that volume, 95% originated from Brazil.  

White sugar imports under the scheme totalled 155,000 tons during the same period, up 5% year on year. Brazil accounted for 43% of these imports, followed by Morocco, Egypt and Ukraine. 

European sugar beet growers have raised concerns over what they describe as unfair competition, particularly as the EU considers a trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc of South American countries that could include a larger sugar quota. Producers say increased imports have contributed to a supply glut that has pushed EU sugar prices to their lowest levels in at least three years. 

However, the European Commission has noted that imports from Brazil remain small relative to Brazil’s overall exports, which totalled 33.8 million tons in 2025, according to government data. 

The proposal has drawn criticism from parts of the sugar fermentation industry, sugar refineries and sugar-using sectors, which argue that the price decline is driven by sugar beet overproduction rather than imports.  

Industry groups warned that suspending the scheme would hurt EU manufacturers. “Suspending inward processing relief would raise production costs for EU manufacturers, hindering their ability to compete internationally and threatening their ability to remain in global markets,” they said. 

By contrast, European sugar beet growers’ lobby CIBE welcomed the proposal, calling it timely and necessary. “It will provide the right signal and some relief on a very depressed EU sugar market,” the group said. 

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