China’s sugar industry ‘panics’ as Beijing removes protective tariff in a bid to plug shortage
- In a bid to fill a shortfall in sugar demand, China has let a safeguard tariff lapse, meaning foreign imports will now be cheaper to buy
- Local industry ‘panicked’ by the move, which may put a stop to widespread smuggling of sugar along China’s border regions
China has ignored its own sugar industry’s pleas for protection after allowing a safeguard tariff on sugar imports to lapse, a move that was welcomed by some of the world’s major producing nations, including Brazil and Australia.
A three-year safeguard tariff on sugar imports was enforced in 2017 after China’s Ministry of Commerce found an increase in imported sugar had “caused serious damage” to the Chinese industry, which was already crippled by rising production costs.
Now, with the term lapsed, import volumes above China’s annual quota will now be taxed at 50 per cent, instead of the 85 per cent tariff applied before May 22 – a move which has been decried by domestic producers.
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The Chinese government did not respond to a petition filed in early-May by sugar associations in seven Chinese provinces and cities, including the biggest production hub in Guangxi, asking to extend the safeguard. The organisations said that the industry was “panicking” at the change.