General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Can we agree that jobs are not the problem with TPP? [View all]shaayecanaan
(6,068 posts)No other country besides Japan makes FOS or other oligosaccharides on any great commercial scale. Pretty much all the inulin and FOS in products sold here are made in Japan. As long as there is a market for those products then those jobs will remain. FOS production isnt dependent on sugar beets, you can make it from cane sugar just as easily.
Something like 47% of Okinawa is given over to sugar production. Thats where most of the Japanese sugar comes from. Okinawa is perfectly suited for sugar cane production and doesnt really need the protection, but the farmers of course quite like being artificially enriched.
Meanwhile consumers in the US, EU and Japan collectively pay $3.4 billion in protection money each year for the sugar industry alone.