SUA Commends USDA for Taking Action on Refined Sugar Shortage

Urges Additional Actions to Help U.S. Food and Beverage Manufacturers Deal with Extremely Low Sugar Supply. Washington, D.C. (March 11, 2020) – The Sweetener Users Association (SUA) today issued the following statement praising the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for allowing 200,000 tons of refined sugar from Mexico in an effort to address the sugar shortage American food and beverage manufacturers continue to endure …

Baking Business: Senators ask U.S.D.A. for more sugar

WASHINGTON — Eight senators in a Feb. 27 letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to take action to ensure an adequate supply of refined sugar later in the year when shortages are expected.“As you know, adverse weather in the midwestern and southeastern U.S. significantly depressed the domestic sugar harvest in 2019,” the letter said. “As a result, U.S.D.A. projects cane and beet sugar production to decrease 8.5% and 10%, respectively, compared to the previous marketing year. Mexico also reported depleted sugarcane crops due to unfavorable weather conditions in key sugar-producing regions. This decline in North American raw sugar production threatens to disrupt supply chains and increase prices for U.S. consumers.”

POLITICO Pro: USDA makes $285M available for sugar beet processors

The Agriculture Department plans to send $285 million to sugar beet processing cooperatives that lost money in 2018 and 2019 after some of the worst harvests because of snowstorms, rain and frost, Secretary Sonny Perdue announced today.The money is available under USDA’s $4.5 billion disaster aid fund authorized by Congress last year, known as the Wildfires and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus. Signups begin March 23. …