IT was a bitter-sweet demonstration. Oxfam officials and Malawian sugar producers poured the contents of a giant sugar bag next to a map of Africa outside the Oxfam Homestore in Micklegate, York.

The sugar "dumping" was their way of calling on Britain to take a lead in reforming what they see as a skewed European Union (EU) sugar regime that is preventing farmers in developing countries from trading their way out of poverty.

But the demonstration could not come at a more worrying time for Yorkshire's 2,000 beet growers, 270 of whom converged on a meeting in Askham Bryan last Friday. They were told by Newton-on-Ouse farmer Mike Blacker, who is chairman of the National Farmers' Union's Sugar Board, how a proposal by the EU Commission to slash sugar prices by 37 per cent could eventually cost jobs.

Today, Mr Blacker said of the demonstration: "Like the growers in the United Kingdom, the growers in lesser developed countries in Africa, and Caribbean and Pacific countries would all suffer dramatically if there were cuts in price."

But Kim Tan, Oxfam's campaigns officer, argued that Mozambique, Ethiopia and Malawi had lost £130 million over three years through market restrictions into the EU, yet UK sugar companies like Tate & Lyle received £105 million in subsidies alone to dump sugar on world markets.

Now the World Trade Organisation's (WTO's) sugar panel had found the EU guilty of violating its commitments to the WTO by exporting up to four times more subsidised sugar on to world markets than is allowed.

Mr Tan said: "The scam has been uncovered. The EU must act now to reform the regime in a way that benefits poor countries."

The 37 per cent price drop is one proposal that has been put by the European Commission for framing into law, along with a quota reduction of 2.8 million tonnes to take into account the "dumping" objections, but Mr Blacker and the Yorkshire growers intend to object. "There is still time to influence the legislation," said Mr Blacker.

Updated: 09:40 Tuesday, November 16, 2004