The competitiveness of the EU sugar industry

Abstract

This research investigates competitiveness of sugar manufacturing companies of the European Union (EU). Sugar industry represents a vital part of the EU food and beverages industry. The aim of the research is to show how EU sugar producers can be more competitive on internal and global sugar market. The methodology includes dynamic panel data models using sample covering up to 189 sugar manufacturing companies from 25 EU Member States in the period 2008-2016. The key results demonstrate different impact of technology (Research and development activity), investments, sugar beet production, costs of employees, gas and sugar beet prices on average revenue of the EU sugar industry. The results confirm the importance of inputs such as natural gas, revenues from the previous period and investments as key factors of EU sugar industry competitiveness. The proposals and recommendations are presented after research results.

Keywords

• competitiveness
• sugar industry
• the EU
• GMM estimator