SUGAR AND SWEETENER -- SUMMARY                              December 02, 1998
December 1998, SSS-224
               Approved by the World Agricultural Outlook Board
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This SUMMARY is published by the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department 
of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20036-5831.  The complete text of the report
will be available 3-4 weeks following this summary release.
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U.S. Sugarbeet Production in 1998 Expected To Set Record

The National Agricultural Statistics Service pegs the 1998 U.S.
sugarbeet crop at 32.4 million tons, which if realized, would
represent a record. Acreage harvested is estimated at slightly
below 1.46 million acres, 2 percent above the previous year.
National yield is estimated at 22.3 tons per acre, slightly below
records set in 1981 and 1987. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) analysis projects sugar tonnage per
harvested acre to be above historical trends at 3.09 tons, and
total production at 4.5 million tons.

Florida cane for sugar is projected at 15.468 million tons. Sugar
per harvested acre is projected at about 4.40 tons and total raw
sugar production at 1.89 million short tons, raw value (STRV).
Although Louisiana cane yields are forecast at 27.0 tons per acre
(down from the record 28.16 tons per acre the previous year),
increased acreage offsets much of the yield decrease. The current
Louisiana cane sugar production is projected at 1.22 million
STRV. The recent precipitation in Texas following a hot and dry
summer has raised concerns regarding the sugar content of the
State's cane crop. Texas' cane sugar is projected at 90,000 STRV.
Hawaii is expected to produce about the same amount of sugar as
the year just completed -- 340,000 STRV. Recent hurricane damage
will limit Puerto Rico's production to an estimated 7,000 STRV.
The 1998/99 U.S. cane sugar produced should be 3.547 million
STRV.

The tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for fiscal year 1999 for raw,
refined, and specialty sugars were announced on September 17,
1998. The raw sugar TRQ was initially set by USDA at 1,780,164
STRV and 1,284,133 was made available for allocation by the U.S.
Trade Representative. TRQ tranches of 165,347 STRV will be
allocated in January, March, and May if the ending fiscal year
stocks-to-use ratio projection, as published in the USDA's World
Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, in those
same months is equal to or below 15.5 percent. The refined sugar
TRQ was set at 55,116 STRV. Non-TRQ imports are projected at
445,000 STRV.

Total sugar deliveries for consumption are currently projected at
10.025 million STRV. Sugar exports from the Refined Sugar
Re-Export Program are expected to total 175,000 STRV.

Sugar production in Mexico is projected at 5.1 million metric
tons (mmt), raw value, for 1998/99 (November/October). Mexico
produced a record cane sugar crop of about 5.49 mmt, raw value,
during 1997/98. Consumption is projected at 4.13 mmt for 1998/99,
down from an estimated 4.2 mmt in 1997/98. Mexican sugar exports
are projected at 1.00 mmt for 1998/99, down from an estimated
1.28 mmt for 1997/98.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) production for calendar year 1998
is forecast at 9.155 million short tons, dry weight. This level
represents a 5.5-percent growth over 1997. The production of
HFCS-55 is projected to grow 7 percent  compared with about 3
percent growth for HFCS-42. HFCS-55 exports through the third
quarter of 1998 are up 37 percent from a year earlier. Exports
are estimated to constitute 6.2 percent of domestic production,
up from 3.7 percent in 1996 and 4.7 percent in 1997. HFCS-42
domestic deliveries are forecast to grow only 2.4 percent in
1998, and exports remain a relatively minor share of production.

Printed copies of the Sugar and Sweeteners Situation and Outlook
report will be available in about a week. For more information,
contact Stephen Haley 202-694-5247. This issue contains three
special articles, "Sugar in Mexico: Policy Environment and
Production Trends," "The Rise and Decline of Puerto Rico's Sugar
Economy," and "Implications of NAFTA's Duty Reduction for the
U.S. Sugar Market."  The text of the report will also be
available electronically, for details call 202-694-5050.    

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