CONFIDENTIAL
4.
The incompatibility between the Commonwealth Sugar
Agreement and the organisation of the Community market for
S
sugar means that Commonwealth sugar producers including
Fiji would lose a large proportion of their export earnings
if no special arrangement were made for the sale of their
sugar in the enlarged Community. (The world price of sugar
is about one-third of that provided for in the Commonwealth
Sugar Agreement and about a quarter of the Community's
current internal price).
•
5. Fiji in the 1961-63 Negotiations:
Agreement was reached
between Britain and the Six that Fiji was one of the
dependent territories for which Association under Part IV of
the Treaty of Rome would appear to offer the best solution.
We realized that Fiji's interests would only be safeguarded
if a solution were also found to the sugar problem. At that
time, however, the Six had not settled how the Community's
sugar market was to be organised, and for this reason they
were still refusing to discuss sugar with us when negotiations
broke down.
6.
Reactions in Fiji to the Government's recent approach
to the E.E.C.: The Governor and his staff and the Colonial
Sugar Refining Company (an Australian firm) have been following
developments closely and have a clear understanding of the
possible implications for Fiji's sugar exports.
CONFIDENTIAL