Consultation outcome

Raw cane sugar autonomous tariff quotas (ATQs) public consultation information

Updated 11 October 2024

Autonomous tariff quotas (ATQs) allow imports up to a given quantity of a good to come in at a lower tariff than the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rate, or zero tariff, for a specified period. Once imports exceed this given quantity (and assuming no access to other preferential tariffs), the UK Global Tariff (UKGT) MFN rate will apply. In the case of raw cane sugar, the UKGT-MFN rate is £280 per tonne for refining and £350 per tonne for direct consumption.

The UK implemented an ATQ on raw cane sugar on 1 January 2021 at a level of 260,000 tonnes per year with an in-quota rate of 0%. Following a subsequent review of all UK ATQs later in 2021, the government maintained the volume level of this ATQ at 260,000 tonnes and committed to review it before the end of 2024.

In September 2023, in the context of domestic supply challenges and significant increases in sugar retail prices since September 2022^{[footnote 1]}, the government considered whether there was a case to be made to increase the volume of the raw cane sugar ATQ for 2023 for the remainder of the 2023 calendar year. The government also invited views on other tariff options. Following engagement with stakeholders, the government announced its decision on 15 November 2023 to maintain the ATQ at the current level for the duration of 2023.

The government’s consideration of raw cane sugar ATQ levels in 2023 was a separate and distinct process to its commitment to review the raw cane sugar ATQ before the end of 2024.

To fulfil that commitment and given recent pressures on the UK sugar market more broadly, the government is seeking the views of stakeholders on the UK raw cane sugar ATQ and the raw cane sugar UKGT rate.  

On the raw cane sugar ATQ, there are 4 main options for the government to consider for implementation from 1 January 2025:

• remove the raw cane sugar ATQ
• decrease the volume of the raw cane sugar ATQ
• maintain the same volume of the raw cane sugar ATQ
• increase the volume of the raw cane sugar ATQ

The government is mindful of the current context in which the sugar market is operating, with recent worldwide and domestic supply pressures (some caused in no small part by weather extremes) and a range of policy considerations that are relevant when assessing the UK ATQ such as domestic, trade, environmental and health policy.

The raw cane sugar ATQ is just one of the routes available to import raw cane sugar. There are a number of other routes through which it is possible to import raw cane sugar. These include preferential access through:

• free trade agreements (FTAs)
• economic partnership agreements (EPAs)
• the Developing Country Trading Scheme (DCTS)
• use of other tariff quotas (including the WTO tariff quota (CXL) in-quota rate), and the UK’s MFN tariff rates under the UKGT

Further information on the range of routes available for importing raw cane sugar in the UK in 2024 are set out in Table 2 in ‘The UK sugar market’ section.

As well as inviting responses to specific questions on the main raw cane sugar ATQ options, there are other relevant tariff and quota options for raw cane sugar, including the UKGT rate, available for implementation from 1 January 2025. The government is considering those options and welcomes views on whether or not maintaining the UKGT rate would be appropriate; and any other information on wider import routes for raw cane sugar that might be relevant for government decisions in regard to this consultation.

The government is also considering whether or not any changes to the raw cane sugar ATQ would be appropriate in 2024 and invites stakeholders’ views on this.

When considering the responses to this consultation, the government’s policy approach will be informed by all relevant factors including the following:

• the desirability of maintaining and promoting the external trade of the United Kingdom
• our objective of delivering on our trade ambitions, including our ability to pursue new trading arrangements
• our commitment to promoting trade with developing countries
• the interests of consumers in the United Kingdom
• the interests of producers in the United Kingdom of the goods concerned
• the desirability of maintaining and promoting productivity in the United Kingdom
• the extent to which the goods concerned are subject to competition

We encourage respondents to refer to the above in their answers and to provide any further comments and evidence to support their views. Decisions made will take account of feedback from stakeholders.

Background

In 2020, the UK put in place a raw cane sugar ATQ which took effect on 1 January 2021. The ATQ allows a yearly volume of 260,000 tonnes of raw cane sugar to enter the UK market at a 0% rate of duty and is in addition to any other volumes entering through tariff preferences.

The ATQ volume was determined in order to balance multiple government objectives, including:

• promoting domestic production and competition
• preserving preferential access for developing countries
• promoting the UK’s external trade agenda
• for impacts on public health

As we expected, the raw cane sugar ATQ has been filled, or almost filled, in each of the last 3 years.

The government committed to reviewing the volume of the ATQ prior to the end of 2024.

The UK sugar price is largely determined by the balance of supply and demand in the EU. The ATQ (which allows for imports at a 0% rate of duty from any country, including those that the UK does not have preferential trade agreements with) was not expected to have major price impacts as its current volume was not considered large enough to have a meaningful effect on that.

Since 2020 there has been a change in the EU net trade position. In the most recent sugar marketing year (2022 to 2023), the EU was a larger net importer of sugar from the rest of the world than usual. Price increases in the EU market in the current market year were above those seen in world sugar prices. There are several factors that account for this including recent high demand for imports coupled with the tariff structure in place in the UK and EU whereby some of the more price-competitive sugar producers are subject to volume restrictions through quotas and/or tariffs, and domestic factors such as higher energy prices.

The UK sugar market has evolved since 2020 due to long term trends, the introduction of the ATQ and global factors. This includes changes in supply sources for UK raw cane sugar. Imports from Brazil have increased while those from some other countries have decreased (for example Belize, Guyana and Fiji). The UK domestic beet sector has been affected by supply shocks in recent years including from virus yellows in 2020 and unfavourable weather in 2022.

In addition to UK domestic sugar beet production and the raw cane sugar ATQ, the UK can import sugar through its preferential agreements with other countries, through the DCTS and ultimately from any country by paying the UKGT rate. 

The UK government has set out (in the next section) analysis of the sugar market covering: The state of the UK industry, UK sugar imports, export and production, UK imports from ACP states and UK sugar price.

The UK sugar market

UK sugar industry

1. The supply of white sugar in the UK broadly comes from 3 sources:

• raw sugar beet grown and refined domestically into white sugar
• imported raw cane sugar refined domestically into white sugar
• imported white sugar grown and refined abroad

The total new supply of refined white sugar in the UK has averaged around 1.6 million tonnes per annum over the last 5 years.^{[footnote 2]} White sugar refined from beet or cane sugar is very similar and substitutable.

2. For many years, sugar was a highly regulated sector within the EU, with an annual production quota of 13.5 million tonnes of sugar beet divided between 20 Member States (which included the UK at the time). Major reforms to the EU sugar market commenced in 2006 and by 2017 production quotas were fully abolished. ^{[footnote 3]}.

3. The UK’s sugar beet refining industry processes sugar beet that has been grown domestically. Processing takes place in 4 factories centred in the East of England, and the refined sugar produced is used in a variety of products for consumption and other co-products. ^{[footnote 4]}

4. The UK’s largest cane sugar refinery is based in London.^{[footnote 5]} Raw cane sugar is imported and refined into white sugar and other products for consumption. Prior to 2021, the UK sourced the majority of raw cane sugar imports from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Since the start of 2021, over half of the raw cane sugar supplied to the UK has been imported from Brazil.^{[footnote 6]}

5. From January 2021 the sugar ATQ came into effect, meaning importers in the UK can import up to 260,000 tonnes annually of raw cane sugar for refining from any country without paying a tariff. Once the quota is filled, the UKGT MFN rate of £280/tonne^{[footnote 7]} for raw cane sugar for refining applies to all imports except those imported through preferential agreements or other available quotas.

6. The UK has tariff-free arrangements for raw cane sugar for refining imported from the ACP countries^{[footnote 8]} with EPAs in place, and least developed country (LDC) producers through the Comprehensive Preferences tier of the DCTS.

Imports, exports and production

The analysis in this document utilises the latest data available at the time of writing. Depending on the type of data and the data source the availability of 2023 data differs. As a result, the time periods covered in the tables and charts below are not always consistent.

7. The UK is a net importer of sugar.^{[footnote 9]} Figure 1 shows the total new supply^{[footnote 10]} of sugar in the UK on average across 2018 to 2022, split out by domestic production from sugar beet, imports from EU countries (mainly white sugar) and the rest of the world (mainly raw cane sugar), and exports to EU and rest of the world. The total new supply in the UK of refined sugar was 1,631 kilotonnes on average between 2018 and 2022; UK production of sugar beet accounted for 62% of this across that time period. Table 1 sets out more details on UK imports and exports of sugar (refined basis)^{[footnote 11]}, by EU and non-EU, from 2018 to 2022 and the 2018 to 2022 average.

Figure 1: Total new supply in the UK, refined sugar basis, 2018 to 2022 average

Table 1 UK imports and exports of sugar (‘000 tonnes), from all sugar sources (including from cane and beet), converted into refined sugar basis, 2018 to 2022

UK imports and exports	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2018 to 2022 average
UK imports from: the EU	526	514	271	194	261	353
UK imports from: the rest of the world	422	430	428	469	410	432
UK exports to: the EU	236	180	91	15	33	111
UK exports to: the rest of the world	125	68	70	25	21	62
UK net imports	586	697	537	622	617	612

Source: Agriculture in the UK Defra dataset July 2023. Data for 2021 and 2022 is provisional.

8. Sugar consumption in the UK has been on a long-term downward decline as the figures from 2000 to 2022 below demonstrate^{[footnote 12]}. The level of production, imports and exports have also fallen (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Annual level of production, imports and exports of sugar (refined basis) in the UK 2000 to 2022

Source: Agriculture in the UK Defra dataset July 2023

9. In the early 2000s, UK imports of sugar were predominantly raw cane from non-EU sources. With the decline in UK imports of raw cane for refining, the source of UK imports shifted to a greater share of imports from EU white sugar. This can be seen in Figure 3. In 2022, the majority of UK imports still came from non-EU countries, and preliminary 2023 data (January to October) also shows a majority of non-EU imports.^{[footnote 13]}

10. Preliminary data for 2023 shows that between January and October the UK imported 886 kilotonnes of all forms of sugar. Based only on these 10 months this is already the highest import volume observed since 2019, exceeding the annual volume imported in 2020, 2021 and 2022 by over 150 kilotonnes in each of those years.^{[footnote 14]}

Figure 3: UK imports of raw cane for refining and white refined sugar as a share of all UK sugar imports (product weight) from EU and non-EU sources annually (2000 to October 2023)

Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics accessed from UKTradeInfo. Raw cane for refining includes CN8 codes 17011110, 17011410 and 17011310. White sugar includes CN8 codes 17019910, 17019100, and 17019990. Figures for 2023 cover the period January to October.

12. There are a number of different import regimes that are used by sugar importers in the UK. According to HMRC data for 2022^{[footnote 15]}, the majority (55%) of UK’s sugar imports entered under preferential arrangements that provided tariff-free entry into the UK. This includes imports from EU countries (33%) of mainly white sugar under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). The remainder of this share (21%) came from imports of predominantly raw cane sugar from countries trading under the UK’s EPAs and countries trading under other FTAs, particularly the UK-Central American association agreement.

13. In addition to the share of imports entering under FTA preferences (55%) discussed in the preceding paragraph, around 40% of UK’s sugar imports in 2022 entered tariff-free on MFN terms as provided mainly under the ATQ.^{[footnote 16]} These imports came almost exclusively from Brazil. The remainder of UK’s sugar imports in 2022 entered either under tariff-free preferences offered to LDCs under the UK’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), now replaced by the DCTS (2% of sugar imports); or under MFN non-zero tariffs, which covers imports under UK’s CXL quotas carrying non-zero in-quota rates and on MFN terms under inward/outward processing reliefs or paying the full UKGT tariff (2% of sugar imports); or had an unknown tariff regime (2% of sugar imports).^{[footnote 17]}

14. The UK’s sugar ATQ applies to raw cane sugar for refining (CN 17011310 and 17011410). Table 2 below sets out all import regimes available to raw cane sugar importers in the UK. Some of these import regimes, for example for the EU, the DCTS and EPAs, do not face any quantity restrictions in the agreements meaning an unlimited amount can be imported tariff free from these sources.^{[footnote 18]} However, other preferential agreements have quotas in place which limit the volume that can be imported tariff free under preferences. These quotas either run for the calendar year or the sugar marketing year (October to September). Examples include: a 71.3 kilotonne quota for South Africa which was 94% filled in 2021, 96% filled in 2022 and between January to October 2023, 99.4% of the quota had been used; and the 26.9 kilotonne tariff-free quota for Australia from the 31 May 2023 (when the FTA came into force) to 30 September 2023 which was fully filled.

15. From 1 October 2023, the Australia FTA quota was increased to 100 kilotonnes for the 2023 to 2024 marketing year. The Australia quota will continually increase until full duty-free access is provided from 2031.

Table 2: access to the UK raw cane sugar market for 2024

Import regime	Size of access	Countries and agreements	Tariffs (per tonne)
ATQ	260kt	all countries	none
DCTS Comprehensive Preferences	unlimited	47 countries	none
EPAs+	unlimited with the exception of South Africa (71kt)	CARIFORUM++, Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA), Southern African Customs Union Member (SACUM), Pacific States, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Kenya, Ghana	none
FTA quotas	208kt	Australia (100kt), North Macedonia (1kt), Serbia (25kt), Albania (0.1kt), Vietnam (3kt), Peru (5kt), Panama (2kt), Ecuador (3kt), Colombia (7kt), Central America (63kt)	none
FTA and other preferential access	unlimited	European Union, Canada, Ceuta, Georgia, Iceland, Japan, Jordan, Melilla, Moldova, New Zealand, Occupied Palestinian Territories, San Marino, South Korea, Ukraine	none
FTA and other preferential access	unlimited	Australia, Singapore	Australia: £217.80 (for refining), £272.20 (not for refining); Singapore: £47 (for refining), £58 (not for refining)+++
WTO CXL[footnote 19] quotas	82kt	India (4kt), Erga Omnes (31kt), Brazil (47kt)	£82.01 / no tariff (India only)
UKGT	unlimited	all other imports	£280 raw sugar for refining, £350 raw sugar not for refining

Source: UK Integrated Online Tariff. For quotas that run for the sugar marketing year, the volumes applicable for the period October 2023 to September 2024 have been used for the purpose of this table.

+EPAs are development focused FTAs, and have been separated out from other FTAs here for clarity.

++ UK-CARIFORUM EPA members: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, The Bahamas, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago; UK-ESA EPA members: Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe; UK-Pacific States EPA members: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands; UK-SACUM EPA members: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique.

+++ Singapore preferential rate will be reduced to 0% from 21 November 2024.

16. Data for imports of raw cane sugar for refining shows that, prior to the introduction of the ATQ, Commonwealth EPA countries Belize, South Africa and Fiji were the top 3 suppliers, as seen in Figure 4. Since the introduction of the ATQ in January 2021, the UK’s imports of raw cane have been dominated by Brazil, with which the UK does not have a preferential trade agreement. Out of the UK’s top 5 import partners pre ATQ, only South Africa has remained in that group post ATQ.

Figure 4:  Top 5 import partners of raw cane sugar for refining (product weight) before and after the ATQ came into effect

The pre ATQ period is 2018 to 2020 (average) and the post ATQ period is 2021 to2022 (average).

Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics, accessed from UKTradeinfo. Covers imports under CN8 codes 17011310 and 17011410. Imports from France include raw cane sugar for refining produced in French Overseas Territories. Trade is averaged over the time periods of interest, however it should be noted that bilateral trading flows can be volatile due to the nature of the sugar market and so the list of top countries can vary substantially year to year.

African, Caribbean and Pacific States

17. Under current arrangements in the UK, ACP sugar-producing countries are entitled to duty-free access for raw cane sugar (and all other goods other than arms and ammunition) either through EPAs or, as a LDC, through the comprehensive preferences tier of the DCTS. An exception is South Africa, who does not get full duty-free access through the SACUM EPA but is instead subject to quotas (see table 2).

18. Figure 5 provides some context on UK imports of raw cane sugar for refining from ACP and non-ACP sources. Pre-2009 (under the EU sugar Protocol) UK imports of raw cane sugar for refining were over 1 million tonnes a year, with this coming almost entirely from ACP countries. The ending of the Protocol led to a significant decline in total imports of raw cane sugar for refining in the UK, with the proportion sourced from non-ACP suppliers increasing.

Figure 5: UK imports of raw cane sugar for refining (product weight) from ACP and non-ACP suppliers, 2000 to October 2023

Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics, accessed from UKTradeInfo. Includes trade under CN 17011110, 17011310 and 17011410. South Africa has been included in the ACP group as it is a signatory to the SACUM EPA. Figures for 2023 cover the period January to October.

19. Between 2017 to 2022, total imports of raw cane sugar for refining remained fairly stable in the UK, in the region of 350 to 450 kilotonnes annually. However, the distribution of suppliers has markedly changed within that period. Imports from ACP countries have fallen sharply in recent years, halving in 2021 and slightly more than halving again in 2022. In the 3 years preceding the introduction of the ATQ imports from ACP countries averaged 317 kilotonnes annually, and in the 2 full years following the introduction of the ATQ annual ACP imports averaged 106 kilotonnes (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Average annual raw cane imports from ACP countries (product weight) pre ATQ (2018 to 2020) vs post ATQ (2021 to 2022)

20. Figure 7 provides further details on the distribution of suppliers of raw cane sugar to the UK pre-and post ATQ. Across 2018 to 2020, Brazil accounted for 7% of UK’s imports of raw cane sugar for refining on average, however in 2021 to 2022 Brazil’s share was 61%. There have been some increases in imports from other Central and South American countries (such as Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras), whereas the proportion of imports sourced from ACP countries has fallen.

21. Between January and October 2023 (latest available data at the time of writing) a total of 482 kilotonnes of raw cane sugar for refining was imported into the UK. This exceeds the annual volumes imported across 2017-2022 and UK imports from ACP countries have also increased from the 2022 low. However, it remains the case that the majority of these imports in 2023 were sourced from non-ACP countries (primarily Brazil).

Figure 7: Suppliers of raw cane sugar for refining to the UK by import share across 2018 to 2020 and 2021 to 2022 (average)

Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics, accessed from UKTradeInfo. Shares are based on imports by product weight and include trade under HS 17011310 and 17011410.

Sugar prices

22. The world prices for raw and white sugar refer to the prices at which sugar is traded on the international market. The EU price for sugar refers to the price of sugar in the wholesale market within the EU.

23. There is tariff-free trade in sugar between the EU and the UK which causes the price across this region to equalise as producers search for the best return on their product. We therefore consider the UK and EU as one sugar market and wholesale sugar price impacts would be expected to affect both the UK and EU market. Prices from the EU Commission include the UK up to November 2020; we do not expect there to have been any major divergence between the EU and UK prices since then.

24. The world price of sugar is determined by a range of factors such as exchange rates, particularly the Brazilian real, energy prices and the price of oil due to interaction with the biofuels market. Of particular importance, as with all agricultural markets, is the potential for weather induced supply shocks which can cause price spikes due to inflexible demand and inherent lags in new supply responding to higher prices. Global sugar demand is increasing due to population growth and per-capita demand for sugar increasing globally mainly due to income growth in low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Asia. ^{[footnote 20]}

25. After hitting a low around late 2018 to early 2019, world white and raw cane sugar prices have been rising ever since due to growth in world demand outstripping growth in supply, in part because of disappointing harvests in India and Europe. The European price of sugar has risen even more than the world price of sugar due to a shortfall caused by bad European harvests. The EU white sugar price spiked steeply from August 2022 but has largely plateaued, with only small increases, since March 2023.

26. Historically the EU and UK are net importers of sugar in most years. As imports are needed to meet domestic sugar demand, wholesale sugar prices are set by the price of imported sugar from the rest of the world (known as import parity). The price competitiveness, and therefore the cost of imports in the UK, differs across sugar producing countries. As imports from some of the more price-competitive producers are subject to volume restrictions through quotas and/or tariffs in the UK and EU market, when more imports are required, the price of importing increases. Prices will therefore depend upon the extent to which production meets demand within the European market.

27. The ATQ for 260kt of raw cane sugar open to all countries tariff free provides the lowest cost mechanism for importing raw cane sugar for refining. As shown in table 2, there are a range of preferential regimes also available for UK companies to import from that are for specific countries, some of which have quantity restrictions through quotas, as well as non-preferential quotas with an in-quota tariff. Each import route will have different costs associated with them depending on the applicable tariff and the cost competitiveness of the country the sugar is sourced from. If the volumes of competitively priced sugar that can be obtained through these sources is insufficient to meet import demand, further imports would pay the full UKGT rate which is £280 per tonne for raw cane sugar for refining.

28. Between the end of 2017 (when EU sugar production quotas were fully removed) and Autumn of 2022, the EU white sugar price was close to the world price (Figure 8). This was due to European production levels being sufficient such that overall net import demand was relatively low and so the source of the marginal import had a small or no premium compared to world prices. However, in Autumn 2022, supply shocks in the UK and EU caused net import demand to increase which was reflected in an increased price gap. The difference between the European (and therefore UK) and world white sugar price peaked at £247 per tonne in February 2023. By September 2023 this had come down to £137 per tonne as increases in the world price in that period exceeded increases in the EU price.

Figure 8: Average monthly EU white sugar price, world white sugar price and world raw cane sugar price November 2017 to December 2023

Source: World sugar prices: ICE – London White Sugar Futures and No.11 Raw Cane Sugar, EU white sugar price: EU commission. EU prices only available up to and including October 2023. Bank of England monthly average spot exchange rates used to convert into GBP.

29. The price of ACP raw cane exports to the EU has tended to be higher than the average world price for raw cane. Since the end of 2017, the price has become more volatile, but both this and the average world raw cane price have increased overall (Figure 9).

Figure 9: Average monthly sugar prices for EU imports of raw cane sugar from ACP countries and world raw cane between November 2010 and December 2023

30. Retail prices in the UK have reflected the increase in the price of wholesale sugar. In November 2023 they averaged £1.18 per kg. This compares to prices of between 60 to 80p before the price rises beginning in September 2022 (Figure 10). In addition to the rise in the wholesale price of sugar, factors such as packaging and transportation costs have contributed to the higher retail price.

Figure 10: Average price of white (granulated) sugar (pence per kg) in the UK (Retail Price Index)

1. ONS inflation data for September 2023 found that sugar was the highest inflationary product among food and non-alcoholic beverages, measured through CPI at 59.3% in the 12 months to September 2023. This compared to 12.1% across all food and non-alcohol beverages across the same period. ↩

2. Defra. 2018 to 2022 average. Agriculture in the UK Defra dataset July 2023. Total new supply is defined as production plus imports minus exports. It is not equivalent to domestic consumption as it does not account for drawdown or rebuilding of stocks. ↩

3. EU. The end of the sugar production quotas in the EU ↩

4. Tate & Lyle Sugars. Our factories: advanced sugar manufacturing plants ↩

5. Tate & Lyle Sugars. Historic sites and where we are based ↩

6. HMRC Overseas Trade statistics (UKTradeInfo) ↩

7. The world raw cane price averaged £433 per tonne between January and October 2023. ↩

8. HMRC. UK Trade Tariff: preferential trade arrangements for countries outside the UK and EU: ACP, OCT and countries for which special arrangements for sugar apply ↩

9. Defra. Agriculture in the UK Defra dataset July 2023 ↩

10. Total new supply is defined as production plus imports minus exports. It is not equivalent to domestic consumption as it does not account for drawdown or rebuilding of stocks. ↩

11. Agriculture in the UK data reports imports and exports of sugar on a refined basis to ensure comparability with production figures. Raw cane sugar loses some weight through the refining process due to the removal of molasses and other impurities but as this is a small proportion of raw cane sugars weight it is broadly comparable on a raw basis or refined basis. Where we refer to refined basis or product weight we have tried to note this. ↩

12. Defra. Family Food Statistics ↩

13. HMRC. Overseas Trade Statistics, accessed through UK Trade Info. There are minor reporting differences between HMRC Trade statistics and Agriculture in the UK statistics so there may be slight differences between these statistics throughout this information pack where different sources are used. ↩

14. HMRC. Overseas Trade Statistics, accessed through UK Trade Info ↩

15. HMRC. Imports by Preference 2022. Based on all 8-digit commodity codes under HS 1701. Imports are reported on a country of origin basis, which differs from the HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics data reported elsewhere in this document where imports are reported on a country of dispatch basis. This means figures may slightly differ between these datasets. ↩

16. In addition to the ATQ, the UK’s CXL quota for India of 4.2 kilotonnes also carries a zero in-quota rate. ↩

17. HMRC. Imports by preference 2022. Based on all 8-digit commodity codes under HS 1701. Shares may not add to 100% due to rounding. ↩

18. Tariff-free preferential access is provided subject to meeting Rules of Origin requirements. ↩

19. Under quotas known as CXL concessions, created during European Communities expansion, a limited amount of raw cane may be imported from specified countries (including an Erga Omnes quota open to all countries) originally at a reduced rate of 98 Euros per tonne which stands at £82.01 in the UK schedule; additionally there is a quota for all kinds of sugar from India where the duty rate is zero. ↩

20. OECD-FAO. OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2023 to 2032 ↩