USDA Increases Sugar Import Allocation

WASHINGTON - Feb 2/06 - SNS -- The USDA will allow more sugar to be imported during the balance of the 2005-06 marketing year to help cover shortfalls created by a short can harvest on account of damage from last year's hurricanes.

The USDA first announced an increase in the FY 2006 Overall Allotment Quantity of 525,000 short tons, raw value (STRV) to 9,350,000 STRV. Because domestic cane producers can supply none of this increased allotment and domestic sugar beet processors can supply only a small amount, the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is reassigning 500,000 STRV to imports. The import increase will be divided evenly between the World Trade Organization (WTO) FY 2006 tariff rate quota (TRQ) for refined sugar and the WTO TRQ for raw sugar.

The OAQ increase of 525,000 STRV is expected to permit all beet and cane sugar produced in the United States to be marketed domestically in FY 2006. The beet sugar allotment is increased by 285,338 STRV to 5,081,725 STRV. The cane sugar allotment is increased by 239,663 STRV to 4,268,275 STRV.

Neither the beet nor the cane sector has enough supply to meet these new allotments, thus the shortfalls are reassigned to imports as required by statute. Data provided by the beet processors indicate the FY 2006 beet sugar supply is 242,000 STRV less than the new allotment. The beet sugar shortfall reassigned to imports is less than the increase in the beet sugar allotment to enable complete marketing all the FY 2006 beet sugar supply.

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