and continue to rise. The expected output based on the 2015-2016 post forecast predictions are that Eswatini will produce 705,000 metric tons, a new record for the country that can be attributed to an increase in land being available for sugar cultivation. Of this predicted figure about 390,000 metric tons will go to the European Union as part of a new Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). This new agreement between the EU and SADC means that members like Eswatini can sell their sugar on a duty-free and quota-free basis. The quotas that the EU and the United States fill is similar to the Sugar Protocol which began in 1975. The goal of the Sugar Protocol was for the EU to purchase and import specific quantities from countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. These prices and quantities guaranteed production and were well above the world price, which translated into substantial profits for these mostly impoverished countries. This agreement reached an end in 2009 because the EU could no longer support the pre-determined demands. The Sugar Protocol came to an immediate end and was replaced with separate Economic Partnerships with the varying countries and regions. Even though the demands will be just as high as under the Sugar Protocol, the prices will drop significantly. In the case of Eswatini, they have received good reassurance that their product will still be bought by the EU. Mining Currently, Eswatini's mineral sector is governed under a policy drawn up prior to Eswatini's independence. In response to the sector's recent decline, a new mining policy is being drafted by consultants, paid for by a grant from China, and legislation to facilitate small-scale mining has also been proposed. The country's main source of foreign exchange is the Bulembu asbestos mine, however production has hit a steep decline. Diamond, iron ore and gold have also been found in the past, however a lack of investment and development policy has seen the region's potential falter. Although fewer than 1,000 Swazis are directly employed in the mining sector, many workers from Eswatini processed timber from the country's extensive pine populations for mines in South Africa, and around 10,000–15,000 Swazis were employed in South African mines. Their contributions to Eswatini's economy through wage repatriation have been diminished, though, by the collapse of the international gold market and layoffs in South Africa.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Swaziland-MINING.html| title = Encyclopedia of the