Sugar comes from two different crops: sugarbeets and sugarcane. Our 11,000 sugarbeet and sugarcane family farmers support more than 151,000 good-paying jobs across more than two dozen states.
America’s sugar companies are farmer-, employee-, and family-owned. This sweet industry contributes more than $23 billion each year for the U.S. economy.
The cost of sugar in the U.S. for American households has recently been about 5% less than in other developed countries. In a $1.75 candy bar, the sugar in it accounts for about 3 cents which is 1.5% of the cost. We’re a minuscule part of food manufacturers and candy makers’ costs.
American farmers supply about 70% of the U.S. demand for sugar. Sugar yields are up, and the overall U.S. supply of sugar is projected to exceed demand by more than 3.5 billion pounds this year. During the pandemic, the domestic sugar supply chain held strong – we even shifted an additional 50 million 4lb bags from wholesale to retail to meet consumer demand. The remaining sugar needed for U.S. consumption is fulfilled from imports per our obligations under existing trade agreements.
100% of beet sugar processors are farmer-owned cooperatives that employ union labor. Most cane refineries also employ union labor. All pay fair wages and offer good benefits to their workers, collectively totaling $5.7 billion.
In rural areas, the sugar industry is the linchpin of local and regional economies. In cities, it is often one of the few remaining manufacturing employers.
The survival of many American communities is tied to the survival of local sugar operations, which is the economic engine of growth and good jobs in regions where there are few other opportunities. Despite the increasing challenges to these operations caused by inflation, supply chain and transportation issues and labor shortages, sugar producers continue to serve their communities – from providing back to school supplies, to food donations, to providing educational opportunities.
American farmers produce 14% more sugar on 8% less land than two decades ago. Sustainability is the heart of sugar production as it utilizes all parts of the crop to reduce waste and create beneficial co-products for our customers. Some examples include biodegradable consumer products, animal feed, road de-icer, and clean energy.
Americans experiencing empty shelves during the pandemic saw, many for the first time, how critical it is to have a robust domestic supply chain that does not rely on foreign suppliers.
U.S. sugar policy is designed to ensure that America has the ability to produce an essential food ingredient, sugar. Absent American sugarbeet and sugarcane farmers, food manufacturers and consumers would be reliant on foreign suppliers.
Unfortunately, the world sugar market is neither fair nor free; it is volatile and unstable due to government intervention in many of the sugar-producing countries. Those foreign governments incentivize the production of sugar to sustain their local workforce and industries. However, to keep the surplus sugar from crashing their internal market, they encourage the dumping of sugar in the world market below the cost of production. Or they can choose to starve the world market of sugar should production be short of domestic needs.
For example, India, Brazil, and Thailand manipulate the market with collective domestic support estimated to top $17 BILLION annually – overproducing for their domestic supply and then dumping the excess on the world market.
U.S. sugar producers have 90 strategically located facilities that get sugar to our customers right when they need it. Without the domestic industry, Americans – consumers and food makers – would be vulnerable to supply disruptions stemming from dependence on a volatile world market dominated by India, Brazil, and Thailand. This unreliable sourcing of sugar would likely cost food manufacturers hundreds of millions of dollars in extra expenses each year that would ultimately be passed on to consumers. Sugar policy ensures that the supply of an essential ingredient like sugar is not in the hands of foreign governments.
Farming is very risky yet critical to America’s national security, which is why the Farm Bill contains a safety net and risk management policies. Sugar producers have access to loans – NOT direct payments. Because our farmers pay back their loans with interest within the year, our program is designed to cost the taxpayer $0.