I googled for some more info on this rather bizar but interesting issue and found the following badly translated article (http://dotnetpalm.net/Main-News/sugar-missed-a-month/) which gives some more details about the current situation but also this 2005 report by the Institute of Economic Research (http://ierpc.org/ierpc/papers/u5_en.pdf) which indicates that Ukraine had import duties on sugar and that the price of sugar in Ukraine between 2002 and 2004 was double that of the world price.
More useful information can be found on this government site (http://www.ukrexport.gov.ua/eng/economy/ukr/175.html)
which makes some interesting claims
* "Sugar industry in Ukraine is almost not supported by the state. There is no mechanism of subsidies and beneficial taxation for sugar manufacturers. Foreign trade in sugar in Ukraine is low because of low competitiveness of Ukrainian commodity on one hand, and limitations on sugar import on the other side."
* " import of crude sugar in Ukraine is not profitable because of high duties"
* "the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine annually determines minimum prices for sugar beet delivered within quotas A and B and sugar within quota A based upon proposals by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine. These prices take the rate of basic beet sucrose percentage (16%) into consideration. Such minimum prices are established until January 1, and consider inflation rates."
Anybody understands how one can combine'not supported by the state'with 'high import duties' and minimum prices?
This paper (http://www.eerc.ru/details/download.aspx?file_id=15569) from the EERC grant competition (http://www.eerc.ru) argues in fact that the government regulation of the Ukrainian sugar market also has facilitated collusion among sugar producers.
After reading all this one wonders why the sugar market is not liberalized more, in Ukraine, but also in other countries.
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