Ethical Sugar Group Suspends Tate & Lyle Over Plantations

An international group that promotes the ethical sourcing of sugar for the food and energy industries has suspended the membership of U.K. sugar giant Tate & Lyle for failing to answer complaints that it was buying from Cambodian plantations accused of stealing land from local farmers. London-based Bonsucro, whose members include global brands such as Coca-Cola and BP, announced the July 8 decision of its board to suspend Tate & Lyle on Tuesday evening. Bonsucro said the suspension would hold until Tate & Lyle conducted a third party review both of compensation for the evicted families and of the plantations’ compliance with Tate & Lyle’s code of conduct, or until it reached “a resolution of the dispute to both parties’ satisfaction.” … Tate & Lyle signed a five-year deal to buy sugar from Thai firm KSL’s Cambodian plantations in 2009 and has shipped 48 million kg, worth more than $32 million, back to the U.K. since. … Mark Moorstein, a lawyer for U.S. law firm Rees Broome, who has helped craft the families’ legal strategy against Tate & Lyle, said the suspension might help push the firm into finally offering the families a fair deal. …

http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ethical-sugar-group-suspends-tate-lyle-over-plantations-35438/