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BANGKOK (Dow Jones)--Thai sugar producers have urged the government to
negotiate under the World Trade Organization to liberalize world sugar
trading, Boontipa Simaskul, director-general of the Thai Commerce
Ministry's Department of Business Economics told a press conference
Thursday.
The three main sugar producers association in Thailand - the Thai
Sugar Producer Association, the Sugar Industry Trade Association and
the Thai Sugar Manufacturing Association - have jointly sent the
official letter to the department to emphasis its pro-sugar
liberalized stance, Boontipa said.
The associations called for the elimination of export subsidies,
the removal of trade distorting domestic support arrangements in order
to end the distortions that affect global supply and demand for sugar,
Boontipa said.
Boontipa added the producers also asked the government to negotiate
to remove all non-tariff barriers imposed against sugar trading and
reduce sugar tariff to be as low as other agricultural items.
Thai producers also asked the government to make headway the
bilateral negotiation with major sugar importers including Russia,
Indonesia and China to encourage them to buy more sugar from Thailand,
Boontipa said.
Thailand is the world's third largest sugar exporter, followed by
Brazil and Australia. |