The Hagstrom Report: Sugar growers ‘surprised’ at sugar import size, users see need for more

SUA Members

The American Sugar Alliance, which represents beet and cane growers, and the Sweetener Users Association, which represents candy companies and other industrial users of sugar, had remarkably different reactions to the Agriculture Department’s announcement Wednesday that it had raised the tariff rate import quotas on raw and refined sugar to address the shortage of sugar caused by a poor beet harvest in the Midwest and a poor cane harvest in Louisiana due to severe weather problems. …

Agri-Pulse: US bakers celebrate more sugar as coronavirus spurs consumer demand

SUA Members

The USDA’s decision to open the tightly-controlled U.S. sugar market to more foreign sugar comes as a relief for bakers and food manufacturers as consumer demand for their products spikes in grocery stores across the country during the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, USDA will officially publish in the Federal Register its decision to nearly double its 2020 tariff rate quota for refined sugar by allowing in an additional 181,437 metric tons of imports. The TRQ for raw sugar is being raised by 317,515 metric tons. …