APPENDIX E

COMMONWEALTH SUGAR AGREEMENT

N 1951 the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement was concluded between the British Government and sugar industries and exporters in Australia, South Africa, the West Indies and British Guiana, Mauritius and Fiji. British Honduras acceded to the agreement in 1954 and East Africa acceded in 1960. As a result of the withdrawal of South Africa from the Commonwealth the South African industry ceased to be a part of the agreement on 31st December 1961. To ensure an outlet for Swaziland sugar and comparable returns for her producers after that date, a separate bilateral sugar agreement was negotiated between the United Kingdom and South Africa which terminated on 31st December 1964. On 1st January 1965 Swaziland, India and Rhodesia acceded to the agreement when additional allocation of quotas was possible following the end of the agreement with South Africa.

The agreement provides that each exporting territory shall receive the price settled by negotiation as being reasonably remunerative to efficient producers for a specified quantity of sugar sold to Britain (negotiated price quota). The agreement was originally for eight years but, with the exception of 1967, has been consistently extended annually by one year so as to preserve the eight-year term. In 1968, it was amended and made of indefinite duration, with provision for a review every three years, beginning in 1971.

The negotiated price quotas consolidated in 1965 are:

(The Rhodesian quota of 25,000 long tons has been placed in suspense until the return of constitutional rule).

The negotiated price for 1969, 1970, and 1971 consists of the following elements:

Basic Price: £43 10s. Od. per long ton, f.o.b. and stowed bulk;

For less developed countries (i.e. all but Australia), a special payment consisting of:

(a) a fixed element of £1 10s. Od. per long ton, which includes benefits formerly accruing under Colonial Certificated Preference system; and (b) variable element which varies inversely with the world price on the following scale:

The world price was below £31 during 1969.

The Sugar Board constituted under the Sugar Act, 1956, meets the U.K. commitment for the purchase of negotiated price quota sugar by purchasing at the negotiated price and selling at the world price in the country of origin.

In addition to the United Kingdom commitment to buy specified quantities at reasonable prices the agreement provides for the orderly marketing in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada of supplies in excess of the negotiated price quotas from the exporting countries and in normal times limits the total amounts which can be sold in these markets (including the negotiated price quotas). These totals are the overall agreement quotas.

(i) Civil population only.

(ii) Excluding dependencies. Population of South Georgia at the end of 1967 was 22 persons, the other islands are uninhabited.

(iii) The other islands in the group, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno are uninhabited and have an area of approximately 16.5 square miles.

(iv) Excluding dependencies. Ascension, 34 square miles, population 1,486 (640 St Helenians) as at 31st December 1967 and Tristan da Cunha, 38 square miles, population 245 at end of 1967.