How the EU Led Greece’s Sugar Industry to Collapse

Greek crystallized sweetener produced by the Greek Sugar Industry (EBZ). Credit: EBZ

Greece’s sweetener manufacture had agelong been 1 of the country’s astir important sectors successful agriculture and nutrient processing since the precocious 20th century. However, it has experienced a crisp diminution implicit the past 3 decades.

Sugar accumulation from beets erstwhile formed a important portion of the country’s superior production. The Greek Sugar Industry (Greek: Ελληνική Βιομηχανία Ζάχαρης, ΕΒΖ) operated aggregate concern units crossed Greece, supporting some home depletion and export markets. In caller decades, however, sweetener accumulation has fallen significantly. As a result, Greece has shifted from being an exporter of sweetener to relying connected imports to fulfill home demand.

History of sweetener accumulation successful Greece

Sugar accumulation successful Greece has a past spanning implicit a century, opening with the constitution of the Christakis Zografos mill successful Thessaly (1894–1909). This mill produced astir 8 1000 tons of sweetener but yet unopen down owed to aggravated contention and challenges successful combating beet diseases.

The astir important play for Greece’s modern sweetener manufacture began successful 1960 with the founding of the Greek Sugar Industry (ΕΒΖ) successful Thessaloniki nether Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis. EBZ gradually established 5 large accumulation units: in Larissa (1961), Platy, Imathia (1962), Serres (1963), Xanthi (1972), and Orestiada (1975). These facilities, with important sweetener beet processing capacities, supported agrarian communities crossed Thessaly and Northern Greece.

In the pursuing decades, the Greek Sugar Industry became a cornerstone of sweetener production, employing hundreds of workers portion providing accordant request for beet growers. The manufacture importantly contributed to the income of astir 20 1000 farmers who cultivated sweetener beets successful Thrace, Macedonia, and Thessaly, making sweetener accumulation a captious constituent of Greece’s cultivation economy.

Τhe Common Market Organization Reform

The situation for the Greek sweetener manufacture began with the important betterment of the Common Market Organization (CMO) for sweetener by the European Union successful the 2000s. The CMO serves arsenic the EU’s ineligible model for managing cultivation and fisheries markets and is simply a cardinal constituent of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). It regulates production, trade, selling standards, and pricing to guarantee unchangeable husbandman incomes, unafraid nutrient supplies, and wide marketplace stability.

In 2005, the EU implemented profound changes to the strategy of subsidies and involution prices, reducing the terms of sweetener by 39 percent and sweetener beet by 42.6 percent. These reductions were lone partially offset done the Single Payment Scheme. The EU Sugar Reform merged assorted quota types into a azygous quota and replaced involution prices with backstage retention mechanisms, aiming to marque the assemblage much sustainable and trim production. At the time, the caput of EBZ warned that the betterment would person “devastating” consequences for producers and farmers, arsenic accumulation costs would stay astir the aforesaid portion selling prices dropped sharply.

These reforms prompted a targeted redistribution of accumulation quotas among EU subordinate states and gradually dismantled marketplace extortion mechanisms. As a result, Greece—like different countries—was forced to trim home sweetener accumulation and adjacent concern units to stay competitory successful the new, liberalized European market.

The Greek sweetener manufacture that was a beardown portion of the Greek system for implicit 30 years has been successful crisp diminution since the mid-2000s. Photo of the archetypal sweetener accumulation works successful Larissa that started operating successful August 1961. Photo credit: ERT archives

Factors contributing to the diminution of the sweetener manufacture successful Greece

According to a study by Capital.gr, EBZ was a subsidiary of the Agricultural Bank of Greece (ATE). Nikos Kezos, who began moving with ATE successful 1984 and oversaw its subsidiary companies, served arsenic caput of the section from 1994 until the extremity of 2010. Kezos attributed the diminution of the Greek sweetener manufacture to respective interrelated factors.

First, lone a tiny fig of farmers cultivated sweetener beets, and precocious summertime temperatures and droughts accrued the request for extended irrigation. The usage of pesticides was besides necessary, and clime alteration further contributed to little yields. Consequently, beet cultivation costs were high, portion the sweetener contented of the beets remained comparatively low.

Second, the state-owned EBZ, with ATE arsenic its main shareholder, suffered from overstaffing, precocious salaries, and an excessive fig of seasonal employees who were employed for six to 8 months, adjacent though 2 to 3 months of enactment were sufficient. The creation of its committee of directors besides changed often depending connected the serving Agriculture Minister. Between June 2013 and July 2018, for example, the committee changed 13 times, portion 10 antithetic ministers were progressive successful efforts to rescue EBZ during caller years.

Third, the state’s work to support EBZ operating, adjacent astatine a loss, led each 5 factories to nutrient a combined 317,500 tons of sugar, whereas successful countries similar Austria and Denmark, lone 3 factories were operating to nutrient 500,000 tons.

Finally, the precocious outgo of accumulation accrued the selling terms of sweetener beets, which astatine times amounted to €53 per ton, further undermining competitiveness and contributing to the industry’s diminution successful Greece.

Additional factors successful Greece’s sweetener manufacture decline

According to assorted reports, the Common Market Organization for sweetener and the afloat implementation of its reforms led to the abolition of protective mechanisms, exposing Greek accumulation to planetary competition. According to Kathimerini newspaper, the simplification of involution prices and the easing of import restrictions caused Greek companies to suffer their comparative advantage.

Another important origin was the afloat activation of the EU’s “Everything But Arms” agreement, which allowed little developed countries to import sweetener duty-free into the EU. This intensified contention successful the Greek marketplace and drove down home merchandise income prices, according to the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEXGROUP).

Production and cultivation statistics

Official information reveals a melodramatic contraction successful sweetener beet accumulation and cultivated onshore successful Greece implicit caller decades. In 2022, sweetener beet accumulation fell sharply, declining by 81.6 percent compared to the erstwhile twelvemonth to conscionable 5 1000 tons. The cultivated country decreased by astir 97.9 percent. Although mean accumulation per hectare somewhat accrued owed to the constricted country nether cultivation, it remained acold beneath humanities levels.

The worth of the Greek sweetener beet marketplace besides dropped significantly, falling to astir €32 cardinal successful 2022 (equivalent to $37.6 cardinal now)—a diminution of implicit 80 percent compared to the erstwhile year. This crisp alteration reflects some reduced accumulation and the debased competitiveness of home output.

Historically, the Greek sweetener manufacture produced hundreds of thousands of tons of sweetener beets per season, but accumulation collapsed successful the aboriginal 2020s, leaving home accumulation astir negligible. A 2025 parliamentary question further highlighted this decline, noting that sweetener accumulation fell from 157,383 tons successful 2009 to lone 38,265 tons successful 2011, a simplification of astir 75 percent successful lone 2 years, according to kavalanews.gr.

Gradual closing of factories

A cardinal infinitesimal successful the diminution of sweetener beet accumulation successful Greece came successful 2014, erstwhile EBZ announced the closure of 2 accumulation units successful Orestiada and Serres, resulting successful the nonaccomplishment of 106 imperishable jobs and 506 seasonal positions, according to Eurofound. The determination was driven by the factories’ deficiency of viability resulting from debased accumulation levels and precocious operating costs.

At the aforesaid time, reports indicated that immoderate facilities, specified arsenic the mill successful Platy, were functioning fundamentally arsenic packing plants alternatively than producing sweetener from home beets. These plants relied connected imported earthy material, highlighting the applicable cessation of home sweetener production, Efsyn.gr noted.

Photo of husbandman holding a sweetener beet. Credit: USDA NRCS Montana – 4175_NRCS_projects. Public Domain

Production and sweetener imports successful Greece (2024–2025)

Greece imported important quantities of sweetener to conscionable home demand, reflecting the minimal home accumulation successful caller years. Estimates published by greekfarmer.com bespeak that, successful the 2024–2025 period, sweetener imports reached astir 413,000 tons. The main suppliers were Ukraine (around 21 percent), the United Kingdom (18 percent), Mauritius (17 percent), and assorted Balkan countries, depending connected marketplace fluctuations and tariff regulations. These figures item the Greek market’s reliance connected imported sugar, arsenic home accumulation remains particularly limited.

Currently, home beet sweetener accumulation successful Greece is practically non-existent. Cultivated onshore for sweetener beets is minimal compared to humanities levels, with lone a precise tiny fig of acres dedicated to sweetener production. Moreover, astir beets grown are utilized for carnal provender alternatively than sweetener processing. In years similar 2022 and 2023, sweetener beet cultivation covered lone a fewer 100 acres, resulting successful fundamentally nary meaningful home sweetener production.

In presumption of commercialized value, the class “Sugars and sweetener confectionery,” including achromatic granulated sweetener and sweetener products, accounted for astir €387 cardinal ($455.5 million) successful Greek imports successful 2023, importantly higher than exports, which totaled €77 cardinal ($90.6 million). This imbalance underscores Greece’s dependence connected overseas markets for indispensable sweetener earthy materials, according to trendeconomy.com. Overall, sweetener imports represented astir 0.44 percent of Greece’s full imports by worth successful 2023, indicating that portion sweetener is simply a comparatively tiny constituent of trade, it remains a unchangeable and indispensable product.

The interaction of Greece’s sweetener manufacture decline

The diminution of sweetener accumulation successful Greece has had profound effects not lone connected economical figures but besides connected section communities. Areas that were erstwhile centered connected sweetener beet cultivation and processing person experienced occupation losses, abandonment of cultivation land, and degradation of the countryside. Local economical cycles and assemblage structures that depended heavy connected sugar-related enactment person suffered a important blow.

At the aforesaid time, the displacement toward imported sugar, contempt beardown home demand, has accrued reliance connected overseas markets. This dependence undermines cultivation self-sufficiency and introduces caller risks to the proviso chain, Efsyn.gr reported.

Can determination beryllium a revival of the Greek sweetener industry?

The Greek sweetener market, including sweetener products and confections, reaches hundreds of millions of euros successful imports, acold exceeding exports and highlighting a important commercialized imbalance successful the sector.

The diminution of the Greek sweetener manufacture illustrates however planetary policies, structural weaknesses, and a deficiency of strategical readying tin pb to the illness of an important accumulation sector. Once a pillar of the country’s superior and manufacturing system done EBZ, Greece present has minimal home production, under-operating oregon closed factories, and relies heavy connected imported sweetener to conscionable demand.

Although governmental efforts person been made to enactment the sector, a sustainable revival would necessitate a broad strategical plan. This should see concern successful technology, enactment for farmers, structural reforms successful management, and wide measures to heighten competitiveness successful the market. Without specified coordinated actions, Greece’s sweetener manufacture risks remaining successful decline, leaving down a historical agricultural-industrial activity, Eurofound reported.