The European Union's sugar management committee has fixed the advance payment for this season's sugar production levy, which indirectly pays for export subsidies, member state officials said on Friday.
The advance levy, usually topped up later in the year, was set at 0.632 euros per 100 kg for "A" and "B" quota sugar, with an extra levy of 9.683 euros just for "B". The payments apply to the 2003/04 marketing year, which began in August.
These levies are charged as part of a self-financing programme that allows the EU to recoup the cost of subsidies for quota exports: so producers effectively finance EU shipments to the world market, where prices are lower than internal prices.
"A" and "B" production quotas broadly correspond to internal demand and to the export of excess quota sugar with subsidies.
Anything produced above these two quotas qualifies as "C" sugar and must be exported at world prices without subsidies.
But if the cost of export subsidies granted during a marketing year exceeds the sum raised by the production levies, the European Commission may then set supplementary levies to increase the total funding and make up the shortfall.
This is usually done around September of October, when the Commission has a reliable idea of the bloc's sugar output and export levels during the year that has just finished.
The sugar panel, which brings together Commission officials and representatives from member states, met on Thursday.
The maximum limit the "B" quota levy can be set is 37.5 percent of the EU's intervention price for white sugar of 63.19 euros/100 kg.
In 2002/03, the final amount was set at 19.96 percent, well below the maximum charge due to lower output.
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