EU Quota Sugar Market Concentration – the Main Drivers of EU Sugar Market

• Published in: AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics 2015-12, Vol.7 (4), p.131-142
• Main Authors: Řezbová, Helena, Maitah, M, Sergienko, O. I
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: EU market; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Production Economics; Productivity Analysis; quota distribution; sugar market; Sugar production; sugar quota system
• ISSN: 1804-1930; 1804-1930
• DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.231900

The European sugar market is changing its character. During the last two decades its concentration changed and individual countries and companies have been preparing themselves for the end of sugar production quotas system. The level of competition within the EU sugar market is accelerating. Many companies already left the EU market or significantly reduced their production capacities. The main task of this material is to analyse the EU sugar market and especially sugar quotas character and to specify the current EU sugar production structures existing under the sugar quotas system. The paper is also identifying individual drivers/actors operating under the sugar quota system. The idea is to identify the level of EU sugar market concentration through the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). The results coming from the analyses provides the overview of very specific character of the European sugar production quota system. However the market is operated by many companies and alliances, its production capacity are extremely concentrated. The majority of sugar plants are located in Germany, France, Poland and the majority of sugar quotas are controlled by companies headquartered in Germany, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In nowadays - the sugar quota system in the European Union is operated/controlled by only a few very powerful operators: Südzucker, Nordzucker, Tereos, ABF, Pfeifer & Langen, Royal Cosun and Cristal Union. This paper was supported by the Grant Agency at the Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague: The selected aspects of economy sanctions and their impact on mutual trade between EU and Russia [nr. 20151031].