The Sugar Policy Alliance has renewed its call for Congress to revise sugar policy as strict import quotas have reduced the availability of refined sugar, thereby inflating prices, the organization says.
World sugar prices hit a 27-year high in August last year, when they had surged 80 percent since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, sugar stocks have slumped, and some food manufacturers have expressed concern, saying that other commodity prices are also high at a time when recession-squeezed consumers are closely watching their food spend.
In September, USDA set sugar import quotas at the minimum allowed under World Trade Organization agreements, ignoring pleas from industry to increase sugar imports.
The Sugar Policy Alliance comprises a number of sweetener users including Hershey's, Kraft Foods, Krispy Kreme and General Mills.
SPA chairman Larry Graham said: "Sugar prices are now higher than they were in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which closed two Gulf Coast sugar refineries and created major disruption in the industry. Yet USDA has not recognized the seriousness of the situation and has made no move to increase import quotas."
World sugar prices have continued to rise, hitting 33.32 cents per pound in January 2010, according to USDA figures, compared to 15.67 cents per pound in January last year – and U.S. retail prices are even higher, at 58 cents a pound in September.
