PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Mauritius expects good weather to lift its sugar output by six percent to 480,000 tonnes this year, its Chamber of Agriculture said on Thursday. The government is reforming the sector -- a traditional cornerstone of one of Africa's most stable and prosperous economies -- to mitigate against the fall in sugar prices as a European Union (EU's) preferential trade deal comes to a close. The Indian Ocean island nation is the biggest sugar exporter to Europe from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) nations group. "Sugar production for 2009 will be around 480,000 tonnes compared to 452,062 in 2008," Jocelyn Kwok, the chamber's secretary general told Reuters. Kwok said that a storm-free cyclone season combined with high rainfall looked set to ensure an improved harvest. The EU will later this year complete its phased reduction of quotas for subsidised sugar production under its programme to reform the ACP's heavily supported sugar market. Sugar prices will fall by 36 percent in 2009 compared to terms set by the trade deal. Kwok said that the cuts, which affect both raw and refined sugar -- meant raw sugar would sell at 336 Euros a tonne this year compared to a pre-reform price of 520 Euros. Mauritius is investing 650 million Euros as it moves into producing value-added, refined sugar, instead of the raw product. Last year, it reached an agreement with Europe's largest sugar company, Germany's SuedZucker, which will import up to 400,000 tonnes of sugar annually. | 
