Honoourable Ministers,
Distinguished Ambassadors and other Representatives of Governments
Representatives of the Sugar Industry
Representatives of Cane Farmers and Sugar Workers
Members of the Trade Union Movement
Colleagues
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen:

Good Morning , and welcome to this meeting of CARICOM Stakeholders on the Proposal for the Reform of the European Union Sugar Regime, with particular reference to their implications for the CARICOM sugar industry

This is my first public opportunity to speak at a CARICOM Meeting since last Saturday's dramatic victory by the West Indies over England in the final match for the ICC Champions' Trophy, and what a victory it was!

It has been a difficult time in the Caribbean over the past month. I have seen some of it at first-hand for myself. So it was a special joy to see the captain and vice-captain at the victory celebrations, make a point of lifting the Grenada flag aloft as if to say "This victory is for you. We haven't forgotten you. You will rise again as we have".

Occasions like that remind us that if as a people we West Indians work diligently together and support each other to the full extent of our individual strengths and capacities, we can rise to the top. Congratulations to the West Indies team. They have given us all a badly-needed lift and renewed our energy for the many daunting tasks ahead at this time.

And there are few tasks in CARICOM today more daunting than tackling the mix of challenges which face the sugar industry of the region at this time. It is because the challenges in sugar are so immediate and so daunting that the Heads of Government have mandated the holding of this special meeting of stakeholders in the regional sugar industry to review the challenges and develop a plan of action to meet these challenges in the immediate future. One thing is sure - the challenges are serious and an urgent action plan to confront these must be proposed and implemented.

This is a meeting involving all stakeholders so let me recall what is at stake.

The sugar industries is the largest and most important agricultural enterprise in CARICOM and for us, as you know, maintaining our agricultural base, is vital not just to our economies, but to our societies at large.

Sugar provides employment for many scores of thousands throughout the Region and since it is estimated that every employed person provides a livelihood for at least four others, well over half a million of our people depend on sugar for a living.

Sugar is also a large generator of foreign exchange - US$250 million annually from exports to the EU alone. And it is seldom recalled that the utilisation of its by-product, bagasse, provides power for the sugar factories and workshops which represents, especially in this time of escalating oil prices, a most valuable saving in foreign exchange.

These are practical, quantifiable, important contributions but there is a less definable dimension to sugar's place and role in our economies and societies which must never be forgotten. How, for instance, do you measure the value of rural stability? How do you measure the value of keeping in check an internal migration of people into already over-burdened and under-provided urban areas? How do you measure the contribution sugar makes to preserving the environment? How do you measure the aesthetic satisfaction in the countryside which the sugarcane gives to visitors and to our own inhabitants?

This meeting will be faced with considering the full range of challenges facing the sugar industry. Individual industry leaders and representatives will have the opportunity to outline their current plans and prospects in the light of these challenges. The potential impact of the recent ruling at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in regard to the challenge by Brazil, Australia, and Thailand to the European Union Sugar Regime will also be discussed. But the main focus of this meeting is on the European Commission's proposals for the reform of the sugar regime and the clear and present danger which these proposals pose for the regional sugar industry.

I do not need to remind this meeting of the tremendously adverse impact these so-called reforms will have on us. As early as next year our sugar revenue would be cut by 20% to be followed by the same size cut in 2006 and in 2007, the reduction in sugar earnings would be increased to 37%. Approximately US$180 million in just three years will therefore be lost by CARICOM and, of course, the reduction of 37% representing US$90 million will be lost annually thereafter. It is a wound that will go on bleeding.

I do not believe that the powers that be in the EU who recognise that the development needs are of paramount importance in international trade negotiations and who specifically, in the case of the Caribbean, have launched negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement have properly analysed and fully understood the impact on our economies and societies of these suggested changes. I cannot bring myself to believe that they have.

The proposed changes would be most abrupt and deeply dislocating, and without any accompanying, off-setting or compensatory measures for the chief victims of the changes, the effect would be precipitate, drastic and destructive. These changes do not live up to the spirit of the Cotonou Agreement, and to the assurances given therein. They are contrary to our joint commitment to foster development, reduce poverty and grant special treatment to the disadvantaged.

Those of us who were present when the solemn undertakings were given at the signing of the Sugar Protocol, would find it hard to rely on future commitments. The proposed changes in my opinion, would therefore undermine our confidence at the very start of our negotiations with the EU for an Economic Partnership Agreement. Indeed, it is difficult not to see these proposed changes as representing the very antithesis of the concept of partnership. They are certainly not the product of a partner who aims to help us build our economies and improve our lot in life.

I have recently seen for myself some of the ravages in CARICOM, of that terrible hurricane, Ivan. And my heart is heavy with the dreadful loss of life, the destruction of property and crops, the massive damage to infrastructure, and the violent set-backs to already heavily burdened economics and fragile societies. But that was nature at work. Man should not emulate it.

This is an emergency meeting responding to a man-made threat. The alarm bells are ringing. It is not a question simply of analysing the nature of the threat but of deciding the course of action to pursue in the immediate future. The crucial work of making our views known to those who matter and of lobbying hard to protect our interests has begun and is ongoing. Much of this work is being done within the ACP sugar group and that is right since ACP solidarity is of vital importance in this struggle.

But the Caribbean has its own peculiar concerns and its own special interests and we must take the opportunity at this meeting to define how we in the Caribbean are specifically affected and what we need to do to secure our future. We can then take a leading role in the ACP in responding to the dangers fully and effectively.

That, Honourable Ministers, is your task, and I pledge the full support of myself and staff.

I thank you and now give the floor to any Head of Delegation who wish to make an introductory statement.