Julian Price passed away recently at 65. He dedicated almost four decades to the sugar trade and became one of the most trusted voices in European and international sugar markets.
Julian studied Agricultural Economics at the University of Aberdeen and obtained his BSc in 1985. The following year he completed a postgraduate diploma in Marketing at the University of Strathclyde. He joined ED&F Man in London in October 1987 as a market analyst and stayed with the company for over thirty years. In 1994 he moved to the trading desk as a broker for ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) sugar entering the EU. In 2012 he became Head of EU Raw Sugar Trading, a role he held until leaving the company in March 2018.
Alongside his work in trading, Price established a broad presence in the industry. He chaired the UK Sugar Traders’ Association between 1998 and 2002. Starting in July 1995, he acted as a representative for Tanzania’s sugar industry and then, for Eswatini (through the Eswatini Sugar Association), on the ACP London Sugar Group. He carried out this function for over thirty years, according to his own statement, right until his last months. In 2005 he worked as Special Adviser to Zambia at the World Trade Organization’s Fifth Ministerial Conference in Cancún.
In May 2010 he was elected President of ASSUC, the European Association of Sugar Traders, an organisation whose membership includes about sixty trading companies throughout the continent. He occupied the post for eight consecutive years before resigning in May 2018.
In the same year after leaving ED&F Man, Julian established his consultancy company, julianprice.com Ltd, providing independent analyses of EU and UK sugar trade flows, statistics, and regulation to various industry clients. In 2023 he was appointed Executive Director of the ACP/LDC Sugarcane Industries Group, representing the sugar industries in the ACP and Least Developed Countries with preferential access to EU and UK markets. He held this position until his death.
They affectionately called him “Mister EU Regulations” because of his expert knowledge of the detailed provisions of European sugar policy. A long-time colleague on the ACP London Sugar Group recalled warmly that no job title could convey the great effort he put into keeping members informed about the more obscure parts of EU trade rules.
Julian’s knowledge extended beyond futures prices. He had a rare ability to link market statistics to actual physical trading conditions and explained complicated regulatory and market developments clearly and directly. He frequently wrote for Südzucker’s newsletter, Sugar & Beyond, the Indian trade publication ChiniMandi, and contributed to the International Sugar Journal. Until last month, he wrote a monthly market insights column for Sugar Industry International. He was a regular speaker at conferences, including the S&P Global Platts/Kingsman EU sugar seminars in Geneva, the International Sugar Organization’s seminar series, and the World Association of Beet and Cane Growers, where he spoke as recently as November 2025. His opinions were often sought by the broader business press, such as the Wall Street Journal and Yahoo Finance.
Julian Price has left an important legacy in the global sugar industry, and his work in understanding the European sugar market and its connections with the rest of the world will be well remembered.
Julian is survived by his wife Albane and their daughters.
