RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/RO/W/84
17 April 2002
(02-2047)
Committee on Rules of Origin Original:  Spanish
CHAPTERS 1-24 (AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AND FISH)
Submission by Cuba
The following submission, dated 9 April 2002, has been received from the Permanent Mission
of Cuba.
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SUBSTANTIATION OF CUBA'S POSITION CONCERNING ISSUE NO. 53:
REFINING OF SUGAR
Cuba maintains its position that refining is a process which confers origin, taking account of
the following elements:
1. Change in characteristics
Raw sugar and refined sugar are different products in terms of their characteristics, and are
classified under different tariff headings.
During the refining process, raw sugar undergoes fundamental changes as a result of which
the product that emerges (refined sugar) is complete ly different in terms of crystal structure, colour,
odour, texture, bacterial level, chemical makeup and taste.
Raw or brown sugar
This is a solid crystallized product obtained from sugar cane or sugar beet juice by
appropriate industrial processes, essentially consisting of impure sucrose crystals covered by a film of
molasses.  It is granulated in appearance.
Refined sugar
Refined sugar is a solid crystallized product obtained by applying industrial refining
processes to raw sugar or syrup.  It is made up of clean and shiny sucrose crystals with remnants of
impurities, and exists in granulated, milled or powdered form.
2. Substantial transformation
Refined white sugar with a minimum polarizati on of around 99.8 per cent is defined as a solid
obtained from raw sugar or syrup by one of several industrial refining processes and consists of clean,
shiny, sucrose crystals with a minimum quantity of impurities.G/RO/W/84
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Two systems are used for the production of refined white sugar:  the carbonation system and
the phosphation system.
The production process for refined white sugar using the classic phosphation system is
described below.
Conditioning
The refining process using this system used raw or brown sugar as a raw material.
Affination
Also known as washing, this consists of elimin ating the film of molasses adhering to the raw
sugar crystals.
Mixing the raw sugar with dense molasses and centrifuging the mixture in which the crystals
are washed with hot water after the molasses has been expelled separates the two.
Remelting
This operation produces the raw liquor.
The washed sugars is dissolved in approximately half of its weight of water in a tank fitted
with mixing vanes known know as a dissolving tank .  Steam is introduced to assist the dissolving
process.
The operation uses low-polarization (1) fresh water to obtain liquor of 60 to 65 Brix.
Phosphoric acid is then added to the liquor to absorb the colour and milk of lime to bring it to a pH of
7.0 to 7.2.
Clarification
This is the most important operation in the refining process, as clarified liquor with little
colour results in a good quality refined sugar that meets the most stringent  market quality standards.
The raw liquor is pumped into clarifiers, first being aerated in a static mixer (using air or
mechanical agitation).  A suitable quantity of an anionic flocculent is added to precipitate out any
impurities.
When heated, the air bubbles rise to the surface carrying the impurities with them and
forming foam that is skimmed off by blades.
This removes 30-40 per cent of the colour.
Filtration
This stage is employed mainly when industrial and pharmaceutical sugar is to be produced.
The clarified liquor is further de-coloured by treatment with activated carbon and a filtering medium.
The filtration process removes impurities from the liquor so that the crystallization stage
produces sugar with minimum color and high brightness.G/RO/W/84
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Evaporation
The clean liquor is treated in evaporators using steam and vacuum.  The aim is to eliminate as
much water as possible to leave a liquor between 65 and 70 º Brix. (evaporated liquor), that is then
pumped to the vacuum pans.
Crystallization, granulation or boiling
The evaporated liquor is concentrated even further in the vacuum pans until it reaches
supersaturation, at which point it is "seeded" (3) causing the formation of equal sized grains no greater
than 0,4 mm.
The grains are fed with evaporated liquor from the previous strike (4) until they reach the
characteristic size of refined sugar grains. With this process, reference can now be made to the
massecuite.
The grains are developed when the massecuite fills the pans, and this is when it is discharged.
Centrifuging
The cooled massecuite is centrifuged in order to separate the sugar from the molasses using
hot water for washing.
The resulting sugar has a water content of 1,5 per cent.
Drying and cooling
The damp sugar from the centrifuges is then treated in a special piece of equipment usually
consisting of 2 horizontal drums.
In the first drum the sugar is dried by hot air and in the second, known as the cooler, it is
reduced to ambient temperature.
The sugar emerges from this stage with a water content of 0,03 per cent and a temperature
between 43 - 54ºC.
Screening
The sugar from the dryer-cooler passes over vibrating screens, which separate out the lumps
that always form when the sugar is being sent to the bagging hopper.
3. Different uses
The end use of the two products is different.  Raw sugar is not usually intended for human
consumption.  It generally undergoes refining before being consumed directly by human beings,
which makes it an intermediate raw material.
It is also used as animal feed and to produce ethanol.
Refined sugar, on the other hand, can be used for human consumption or in the
pharmaceutical industry, in the preparation of medicines in the confectionery industry and in the
preparation of food and beverages.G/RO/W/84
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4. Change in value
During the refining process, the value of raw sugar increases considerably, by approximately
40-50 per cent.
On the international exchanges, the quotations for raw sugar and refined sugar are established
on the basis of different contracts, with their own separate quality specifications.
Raw sugar is quoted in bulk, while refined sugar, which is for direct consumption, is quoted
in sacks.
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