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

In the News

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

In the News

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. …

SUA Praises Senate for Pushing Immediate USDA Action on Refined Sugar Shortage

Press Releases

Says ‘Reforming the U.S. Sugar Program Is the Long-term Answer’ to Supply ShockWashington, D.C. (February 27, 2020) – The Sweetener Users Association (SUA) today issued the following statement in support of a recent Senate letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requesting further action on the refined sugar shortage American food and beverage manufacturers continue to endure:

The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore’s Domino plant is working overtime as raw sugar pours in from Mexico

In the News

Under the neon Domino Sugars sign in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, a century-old refinery steadily produces the crucial ingredient in American candy, soda and other foods. The already busy plant soon might need to burn even more calories. Unusually bad weather around the country ruined both U.S. sugar beet and sugar cane crops last year, leading government officials to seek an 80 percent increase in raw sugar imports from Mexico. …