Congress Has the Opportunity to Modernize the Sugar Program in 2023 Farm Bill
Washington, D.C. (February 10, 2023) – The Sweetener Users Association (SUA) today released a new white paper detailing how U.S. sugar policy has driven prices to historic highs for American companies and consumers.
While high prices have plagued most commodities, the paper explains, sugar has uniquely been affected by an outdated and inflexible policy. By restricting imports and mandating rigid marketing allotments to restrict domestic production, the program has artificially inflated the price of sugar in the United States, making U.S. sugar more expensive than sugar produced in other countries.
“The inflexibility of the U.S. sugar program means that sugar processors and sugar-using companies in the United States, which include the sugar-using companies we represent, must pay more for sugar than they would if the market were more competitive. This, in turn, raises prices for the everyday American consumer,” explained SUA President Rick Pasco.
Congress has the chance to reform the fundamental structure of U.S. sugar policy to better serve all sugar stakeholders as it turns to reauthorizing the farm bill, consequently avoiding artificially high prices and tight supplies of sugar.
“We encourage Congress to rebalance the U.S. sugar program to benefit producers, processors, users and consumers alike,” concluded Pasco.
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Kate Klimaszewski
