UK receives first tariff-free sugar shipment from Australia in 50 years

CANBERRA (Reuters) - The first shipment of raw sugar from Australia to Britain under a new free trade agreement between the two countries has arrived in London, marking the reopening of a valuable market for Australian suppliers.

The shipment carried 33,000 metric tons of sugar worth around $19 million at current prices, said Mark Hampson at Queensland Sugar Limited which sent it.

The free trade agreement came into force on May 31, removing tariffs in place since 1973. Before the deal, UK tariffs on Australian sugar were as high as 350 pounds ($435) a ton, or around 64%, the Australian agriculture and trade ministries said in a statement.

The shipment is part of a limited quota for the year to October. Next year's quota will be 100,000 tons and the quota will increase by 20,000 tons each October until tariffs are completely eliminated on Jan. 1, 2031.

Hampson said the full 100,000 tons allowed for the upcoming year would likely be shipped.

"We'd expect to use it," he said.

The first shipment of sugar is destined for Tate and Lyle Sugars' Thames Refinery in London. Tate and Lyle Sugars is part of the Florida-based ASR Group.

(Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)