NewsWhore
03-19-2007, 05:50 PM
It has been years since sugar was the nation's main foreign exchange generator and the start of the harvest would make front-page news. This year, sugar is back making headlines because several sugar mills will be producing cane for ethanol production.
State Sugar Council (CEA) director general Enrique Martinez announced the start of the 2007 harvest and that the Porvenir Sugar Mill was chosen as the first mill to begin processing cane. He announced that negotiations are well advanced for the leasing of the Santa Fe, Quisqueya and Consuelo mills for ethanol production. According to the CEA director, Porvenir has been reconditioned and is expected to process over 300,000 tons of cane and produce between 25,000 and 30,000 tons of sugar.
Sugar is also news regarding whether or not the DR will be allowed to sell sugar to Europe. In a related article in Hoy, Rafael Nunez reports that when the Dominican Republic voted to join the Lome IV Accords, the country withdrew from the Number Three Protocol regarding Sugar, which is today annexed to the Cotonou Accords. This was the required condition in order to gain access to European Union markets. What this apparently means is that the Dominican Republic will face stiff resistance as it attempts to gain access to the 120,000-ton shortfall of sugar for the European Union from the English-speaking Caribbean islands. According to the report, the Dominican proposal to provide the sugar Europe needs has been met with "you have withdrawn from the Sugar Protocol." There is some hope, however, since Article 7 of the Protocol does establish some mechanisms whereby if an ACP nation cannot supply its full quota, the Commission can cede the remainder to another nation, subject to it fulfilling a series of conditions.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)
State Sugar Council (CEA) director general Enrique Martinez announced the start of the 2007 harvest and that the Porvenir Sugar Mill was chosen as the first mill to begin processing cane. He announced that negotiations are well advanced for the leasing of the Santa Fe, Quisqueya and Consuelo mills for ethanol production. According to the CEA director, Porvenir has been reconditioned and is expected to process over 300,000 tons of cane and produce between 25,000 and 30,000 tons of sugar.
Sugar is also news regarding whether or not the DR will be allowed to sell sugar to Europe. In a related article in Hoy, Rafael Nunez reports that when the Dominican Republic voted to join the Lome IV Accords, the country withdrew from the Number Three Protocol regarding Sugar, which is today annexed to the Cotonou Accords. This was the required condition in order to gain access to European Union markets. What this apparently means is that the Dominican Republic will face stiff resistance as it attempts to gain access to the 120,000-ton shortfall of sugar for the European Union from the English-speaking Caribbean islands. According to the report, the Dominican proposal to provide the sugar Europe needs has been met with "you have withdrawn from the Sugar Protocol." There is some hope, however, since Article 7 of the Protocol does establish some mechanisms whereby if an ACP nation cannot supply its full quota, the Commission can cede the remainder to another nation, subject to it fulfilling a series of conditions.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)