Sugar Policy
Why Sugar Policy Matters to Dairy Processors
IDFA's ice cream and flavored milk members, about 200 companies in total, use sugar in their products and have been greatly affected by low domestic supply levels and sugar prices that have recently been at or near record levels. These companies employ nearly 35,000 people.
The U.S. market for sugar has been extremely tight over the past year. Last season, sugar-using industries were forced to import some 200,000 tons of "high-tier" sugar, which falls outside the sugar tariff rate quota (TRQ), or amount of sugar imported without high tariffs. This "high-tier" sugar is subject to an extremely high tariff that is intended to be prohibitive. IDFA believes these imports are clear evidence of inadequate sugar supplies, because no purchasers would pay the high tariffs if an affordable alternative was available.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that available sugar stocks for this fiscal year will provide less than 13.5 percent of total domestic demand for sugar, the stocks-to-use ratio that historically results in the minimum amount of adequate sugar supplies is about 15.5 percent
Two tools of the U.S. Sugar Program - import quotas and marketing allotments - are contributing to these supply problems. IDFA is continuously working to remedy this problem by advocating a sugar policy that will ensure adequate and affordable supplies of quality imported and domestic sugar.
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