Tate & Lyle sugar supplier accused over child labour
Source: Guardian
Tate & Lyle sugar supplier accused over child labour
Thai firm KSL Group accused, along with Cambodian government, of land grabs, forced evictions, arson and theft
Kate Hodal in Koh Kong
The Guardian, Tuesday 9 July 2013 14.30 EDT
The British sugar giant Tate & Lyle has imported large volumes of sugar from Cambodia through a supplier that is accused of using child labour and being complicit in expropriating land and inflicting violence on local people.
Tate & Lyle – which is the EU's largest cane sugar producer and whose ingredients are used in a wide range of foods around the world – , has used the Thai KSL Group since 2011 for its supplies from Cambodia. However, KSL is alleged to have been complicit, along with the Cambodian government, in the eviciton of people from their land, arson and theft.
Villagers interviewed by the Guardian claim they had their homes and property destroyed and land taken. They also say they were subjected to physical violence and that one of them was killed during the process of land clearance for plantations.
Children as young as nine work on Cambodian plantations run by KSL.
The allegations against Tate & Lyle call into question the ethics of the sugar industry's supply chain in much the same way that the clothing and precious metals sectors have been scrutinised.
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jul/09/tate-lyle-sugar-child-labour-accusation
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