Daydream Belizers: Brexit, big sugar and the bad boys from Belize.

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In June 2016 a perfect storm of ‘interests’ managed to convince the British people to vote to Leave the EU.Among those ‘interests’ was “big sugar.”

Little known fact: The European Union is the largest beet producer in the world churning out 17 million metric tons per year. The Common Agricultural Policy has long been protectionist towards EU produced beet – even as it (often very reluctantly) reformed other areas. Cane sugar importers pay a tariff of€339 per ton and naturally they do not like it. Would you?

There are only two big players in the UK sugar industry.British Sugar uses beet in its production process and EU (mostly British) suppliers and thus manufactures its commodity tariff free. Tate and Lyle Sugars is a cane importer and is thus obliged to pay tariffs on imports. Unsurprisingly, the company has been opposed to British membership of the Union from the very start.

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