A collaborative analysis conducted by four agricultural economics professors at the University of Tennessee and Oklahoma State University has found that U.S. sugar prices do not impede the financial performance of sugar-using firms. This peer-reviewed study was published in Agricultural and Food Economics.
Drs. Karen DeLong and Carlos Trejo-Pech, of the University of Tennessee’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, found that the retail cost of sweetened products, such as candy and baked goods, is not affected by the price that the food manufacturers pay for sugar. In fact, in this peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, the researchers noted that sugar generally accounts for less than 2.6 percent of sweetened product prices. “Sugar prices do not impact how food companies price their sweetened products in any statistically significant way, which ultimately reaffirms the fact that U.S. sugar policy does not harm sugar-using firms,” the authors concluded.
An analysis of U.S. organic sugar imports and consumption prepared for the American Sugar Alliance by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Neil Rockstad, Vice President for the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management, and Trade in May 2023 on the need for sound U.S. sugar policy.
Please click here for the report.
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A peer-reviewed study, published in Agricultural Finance Review and conducted by by the University of Tennessee, found that over the past 10 years, candy corporations have posted high profits and a nearly double the return on investment compared to an average publicly traded U.S. firm. The high profitability and low volatility of the industry can be attributed, in part, to U.S. sugar policy, which provides a reliable supply of domestically produced sugar and the flexibility to ensure that supply always meets demand.
America’s sugar farming families and workers support more than 151,000 jobs across more than two dozen states and contribute more than $23 billion to the economy each year, according to a study from the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University.
Dr. Rob Johansson, Director of Economics and Policy Analysis at the American Sugar Alliance (ASA), testified before the House Committee on Agriculture in March 2022 on the importance of supporting America’s sugar farmers, producers, and sugar supply chain by maintaining a strong U.S. sugar policy in the 2023 Farm Bill.
America’s sugar supply chain proved resilient in the face of immense challenges in 2019 and 2020, in large part due to the stability provided by U.S. farm and trade policies, the American Sugar Alliance stated in a report submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The report, authored by Patrick H. Chatenay and Sergey Gudoshnikov, not only details how Russia engineered a sudden shift in sugar production, transforming from one of the world’s biggest sugar importers to a net exporter of sugar, but also why the government sought to regenerate its domestic sugar industry.
Download charts and graphs on the economics of the global sugar market.
Compiled by ASA staff using USDA’s Global Agricultural Information Network reports.
After more than half a century as a highly regulated sugar policy, with minimum prices and domestic sales’ quotas, the European Union’s Sugar Regime was liberalized from October 1, 2017. From then on, producers would freely decide how much to supply, a large amount of duty-free imports were available and prices were to be determined by supply and demand. “Market forces” would rule. Click here for the full report.
The International Center for Agricultural Competitiveness (ICAC) at Texas Tech hosts and maintains a database of subsidies and trade policy information for public use. The report summarizes the information obtained and housed in the database relating to sugar in key producing, consuming, exporting, and importing countries. Click here for the full report.
Do American consumers pay triple the world price for sugar? No.
Prepared by Antoine Meriot, Sugar Expertise LLC, for the American Sugar Alliance (ASA.)
Dr. Joe Outlaw and Dr. James Richardson, co-directors of Texas A&M’s Agricultural and Food Policy Center.
Professor Alexander J. Triantis Dean, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland
A report for the American Sugar Alliance by Patrick H. Chatenay, President, ProSunergy (UK) Ltd.
Prepared by Antoine Meriot, Sugar Expertise LLC, for the American Sugar Alliance (ASA.)
by Patrick H. Chatenay of ProSunergy (UK) Ltd
by Professor Alexander J. Triantis
by Professor Alexander J. Triantis
Buzzanell and Associates, Inc.