The First International Sugar Agreement was concluded between producers and consumers in 1937, with the aim of regulating world sugar supply and prices through a quota system for individual members. The International Sugar Organisation (ISO) was established in 1969 in Geneva under the aegis of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to improve cooperation between countries that produce, distribute and consume sugar. The organisation has its headquarters in London. The successive Agreements until the 1980s included economic clauses based on export quotas and national stocks to stabilise prices. The current Agreement was concluded in 1992 and no longer provides for economic mechanisms, while its main objectives are: to intensify international cooperation in all matters concerning the sugar sector worldwide; to provide the Organisation with a suitable forum for intergovernmental consultations in order to improve the world economy of the sector; to facilitate the sugar trade through the collection and publication of statistical data; and to encourage increased demand and new uses of sugar.
Members
To date, the Organisation has 87 members, although the European Union represents all Union’s Member States. The ISO’s representativeness is high: its members account for 87% of world sugar production and 67% of world sugar consumption.
The main producing countries include Cuba, Cameroon and Ivory Coast, while the consuming countries include the EU Member States.
The list of ISO members includes:
Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Brazil, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, United Arab Emirates, Eswatini (Swaziland), Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of Iran), Jamaica, Kenya, Kuwait, Republic of Korea, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mexico, Republic of Moldova, Morocco, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Russian Federation, Serbia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Sudan, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, European Union, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Mandate
The International Sugar Organisation is the only intergovernmental organisation dedicated to improving world sugar market conditions through debate, analysis, special studies, statistics, seminars, conferences and workshops. The organisation’s proactive attitude towards including ethanol from sugar crops in its activities as early as the end of last century has helped to promote the growing role of biofuels in the world’s future energy mix.
The organisation also pursues the following objectives:
– to ensure greater international cooperation in relation to sugar issues;
– to provide a forum for intergovernmental consultations on sugar and on the means to support the world economy in the production of this raw material;
– to facilitate trade by collecting and providing information on the world market for sugar and other sweeteners;
– to encourage increased demand for sugar, particularly for non-traditional uses.
Organisational structure
The ISO has the following bodies: the Council, the Committee and the Secretariat.
- The Council is ISO’s highest decision-making body, composed of representatives designated by Member States. It meets annually to establish policies and programmes, adopt the budget and discuss strategic issues.
- The Committee is responsible for the Organisation’s technical and scientific supervision. Composed of experts appointed by the Member States, it deals with technical, research and development issues in the sugar sector.
- The Secretariat is IS0’s executive body, responsible for the day-to-day management and implementation of decisions taken by the Council. It coordinates the Organisation’s activities, provides technical and administrative support to Member States and facilitates the collection and dissemination of information on the sugar market.
Developing countries and transition economies were also able to access funds allocated by the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) to finance projects aimed at improving the competitiveness of their sugar industries.