Sugar Cane and Sugar

Beets

Shep Rogers

Global Sugar Production

Cane Sugar• Accounts for about 80% of total sugar

production.

• Brazil is the global leader in cane sugar production at over 40% of global output.

• USA accounts for ~1.8% of total cane sugar output.

• Major US states producing sugar cane: FL, HI, LA, and TX.

Beet Sugar

• Accounts for about 20% of total sugar production.

• Russia is the global leader in beet sugar production with ~15.7% of global output.

• USA accounts for ~ 12.7% of total beet sugar output.

• Major US states producing sugar beets: CA, MT, CO, NE, ID, ND, MI, OR, MN, and WY.

Sugar Cane Production

• Requires a tropical climate with an avg.

annual rainfall of ~24”.

• Can grow in a variety of different soils;

requires plentiful rain/irrigation and minimal

chance for frost.

• Grows for 12-16 months before harvest,

which usually falls between June and

December.

• Can be as tall as 10 ft. at harvest.

Sugar Beet Production

• Sugar beets are primarily grown in the

temperate zones of the world.

• Can also grow in a variety of different

soil types; Very water intensive crop.

• Can be grown in hot humid climates, but

leads to problems with insects, disease,

and low quality.

• Depending on climate, planting and

harvesting occur in both the spring and

fall. (Southern CA plants in autumn and

harvests in spring; MN is the opposite)

• Sugar – high-energy and all natural sweetener.

• Ethanol – an affordable and renewable

transportation fuel.

• Bioelectricity – leftover sugarcane biomass can

be burned and converted into electricity.

• Bioplastics – beverage containers, food

packaging and other consumer products made

with sugarcane using less or no oil compared to

standard plastic.

US Sugar Program

• These policies have traditionally

established a minimum domestic wholesale

sugar price and insulated US prices from

world sugar price changes.

• This program supports sugar prices

through a combination of TRQ’s and

“nonrecourse” CCC loans.

• CCC loan rates essentially set a price floor

for sugar and keep domestic producers

from exporting product.

US Sugar Program Explained• Tariff Rate Quotas for US sugar imports establish a relatively low in-quota tariff of 0.625 cents/lb. of

raw sugar for amounts that do not exceed our country’s import allotment. All imports in excess of the predetermined quota are charged an over-quota tariff of 15.36 cents/lb.

• Import allotment is set by the US Secretary of Agriculture.

• US has an obligation under its WTO commitments to import 1.231 million tons of raw sugar annually.

• American consumers and US sugar-using businesses, have been forced to pay more than twice the world sugar price since 1982; (29.1 cents/lb. for domestic vs. 14.4 cents/lb. for world).

• CCC (Commodity Credit Corporation) loans are made to sugar processors as opposed to producers, because sugar must be refined to some level before being sold.

• A loan becomes “nonrecourse” if the domestic price for sugar falls below the CCC loan rate, refined sugar from the processor that is pledged as collateral can be used to repay the loan, in lieu of cash payment.

• If the domestic price is above the loan rate, processors sell sugar in the domestic market, and the marketing loan is repaid along with accumulated interest. This type of loan is a typical “recourse” loan.

Works Citedhttps://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten-/sugar-cane-producing-countries.html

https://www.usda.gov/oce/weather/pubs/Other/MWCACP/Graphs/USA/US_Sugarcane_2010_to_2014.pdf

https://sugarcane.org/about-sugarcane

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-top-sugar-beet-producing-countries-in-the-world.html

https://www.statista.com/statistics/249609/sugar-beet-production-worldwide/

www.sugarproducer.com/uploads/pdf2.pdf

https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/sugar-sweeteners/background/

https://www.bundysugar.com.au/education/process/harvesting

https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/sugarbeet.html

https://www.chartsbin.com/view/43793

https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=78301

Smith, Vincent H. “The Economic Welfare and Trade Relations Implications of the 2014 Farm Bill”. Department

of Agricultural Economics and Economics, Montana State University. Emerald Group Publishing

Limited. 2015.