For many developing countries represented here tonight, sugar is a critical industry that provides valuable foreign exchange to pay for health, education and vital infrastructure virtually all of which comes from the rich countries that are restricting imports of sugar. As well, the sugar policies of the EU, the US and Japan are harming their own food processing industries. One thing that's better in Australia than here is rum and coke, a favourite drink of mine. And the reason is that the coke in Australia is made from cane sugar and not from corn syrup. The result is that we enjoy a better product than here in the home of coke.
Studies show that processed food is the highest growth area in world agricultural trade.
US and EU food processing industries should be well placed to take advantage of this growth. They have some of the best known brands in the world, the best technology, and top products. But despite these advantages their cost structure is unacceptably high because their Governments have handicapped them with staggeringly high input prices. They pay around three times the world price for sugar. The case for reform All of you here are aware of the situation I have just outlined.