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The Sugar Beat

November 2009- Vol. 5 Issue 9

11.03.09 - U.S. and Mexican Sugar Industries Agree that NAFTA Can Work Better

The USDA is facing a challenge unlike any they’ve encountered in more than two decades of operating America’s sugar policy. They have almost no idea of how much sugar to expect from Mexico, which under the NAFTA has had unfettered access to the U.S. market since January 1, 2008.

A new phrase has started to pop up when discussing the confection industry: “recession proof.” And according to recently released projections of Halloween candy sales, the term is pretty accurate.

11.03.09 - Sugarbeet Harvest

Join The Hand that Feeds U.S. as we send everyday Americans out to the farm to work their first harvest. We will share stories about the experience, along with photographs and audio interviews taken out in fields. And, we'll talk to the farmers first-hand to get their view of the annual event and what the harvest means to them...now featuring: sugarbeets.

Papers & Testimony

Retail and Wholesale Sugar Prices Around the World in 2008

Industrial sugar users in the developed world paid, on average, nine percent more for sugar than American candy makers, according to an examination of 2008 prices by Oxford, England-based LMC International. For example, the study found that wholesale sugar prices were 10 percent higher in Europe and more than double in Japan.

LMC Study: Retail and Wholesale Sugar Prices Around the World in 2008

Excess Sugar Imports Harm the U.S. Industry

Under the 2008 Farm Bill, April 1 is the first time during the year that the USDA can increase sugar imports beyond the 1.3 million tons America is forced to import because of international trade deals.

If the U.S. Department of Agriculture decides this week to allow addition foreign sugar imports into the market, it will “jeopardize the ability of U.S. cane sugar refiners and beet processors to meet market needs by weakening an industry already under pressure from rising costs and stagnant prices,” according to a report released today by the American Cane Sugar Refiners’ Association.

The report examined low prices, uncertainty over Mexican sugar shipments, and logistical and quality problems following previous import increases and concluded, “The Department must take care not to worsen this situation by expanding supplies at this critical juncture.”

Raw cane prices—a predictable indicator of market supply—fell 15 percent between last summer and mid-March and have been depressed to levels where “turning the sugar over to the government becomes the only alternative in an oversupplied market,” the study’s author, Dr. Margaret Blamberg, wrote.

Excess Sugar Imports Harm the U.S. Industry

Pending Sugar Import Decision Holds Serious Ramifications

Americans Prefer Domestic Sugar Over Imports

When asked to choose between U.S. sugar and imports, seven in 10 American adults (71 percent) said they’d rather buy domestic, even if the foreign sugar were slightly cheaper, according to a new survey commissioned by the American Sugar Alliance and conducted by Harris Interactive®.

Press Release: Americans Choose Domestic Sugar Over Imports

Radio News Release: Jack Roney U.S. Consumers' Preference for Domestically Produced Food and the Upcoming TRQ announcement

Data Table
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Press

09.25.09 - ASA Statement on FY2010 TRQ Announcement

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced it has set the 2009/10 Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs) for raw and refined sugars at the minimum quantities established by law. The American Sugar Alliance issued the following statement in response:

Symposium

Audio & Video

American Crystal Sugar Cooperative Profile

Footage provided by the American Crystal Sugar Company.

Louisiana Farm Bureau: Michigan Sugar Beet - AJ Sabine

Twila TV's AJ Sabine explains the process used by many Michigan farmers of making sugar from sugar beets.

Former Ag Committee Chairman Larry Combest Discusses the Credibility Problem Food Manufacturers Have After Publicizing Faulty Market Predictions

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