More than 6,000 farmers from over 20 European Union (EU) countries gathered on Monday in Brussels, protesting the dramatic reform of the Union's sugar regime, but their cries are likely to have fallen on deaf ears.

Amidst the whistles and protest chants, the EU farm ministers opened a two-day monthly meeting to discuss the sugar reform plans unveiled by EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel last month.

Insiders expect this first meeting to just be an exchange of views by member states where no real negotiating takes place.

Under the reform plan, EU's support prices for sugar would be slashed at largest by 39 percent over two years.

The reform proposal will also attempt to stem the EU's four million tons of annual sugar exports while leaving only the most efficient sugar producers in business.

Farmers argue that the reform proposal would cause income cut and job losses. Some even say the reform may work too well, forcing the EU to import sugar to make up for the shortfall in consumption.

Source: Xinhua