The world market prices for sugar have been at a constant high level since the beginning of the 2010/11 marketing year. Forecasts of world market prices based on the New York sugar futures exchange market for the terms of May, July and October 2011 indicate that world market price will remain high.

The negative difference between availability and utilisation of sugar on the Union market over the last 2 marketing years is estimated at 1,0 million tonnes. This results in the lowest level of ending stocks since the implementation of the 2006 reform of the sugar sector. Any further shortfall of imports threatens to disrupt the availability of supply on the Union sugar market and to increase the internal sugar market price. To limit the negative difference between availability and utilisation of sugar on the Union market in the 2010/11 marketing year, it is necessary to fully utilise all existing import flows: the import tariff rate quotas and the 1,95 million tonnes of imports resulting from Economic Partnership Agreements/Everything But Arms (EPA/EBA) trade arrangements.

However, EPA/EBA imports registered during the 2009/10 marketing year were 1,5 million tonnes. Based on the current world market situation, this quantity is unlikely to increase in the short term. This would inevitably lead to a further shortfall in the supply on the EU market. This situation is caused by high prices on the world market for sugar and for that reason, it is necessary to suspend import duty for certain quantities of sugar.

The exceptional quantity of sugar that can be imported at zero duty in the 2011/12 marketing year need to be set accordingly.

To avoid import licence trading, the rights deriving from the import licence should not be transferable.

The level of the security should be set at a sufficiently high level to ensure full utilisation of the issued import licences under the current, volatile world sugar prices.

The Management Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets has not delivered an opinion within the time limit set by its Chair,