Sugar Program

Fact Sheet February 1999

continues ▼

National Average Loan Rates

Cents Per Pound

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

Raw Cane Sugar 18.00 18.00 18.00 18.00 18.00

Refined Beet Sugar 23.43 22.90 22.90 22.90 22.90

1996 Through 2002-Crop

Sugarcane and Sugar Beets

Price Support Program

Loan Program

The Federal Agriculture Improvement

and Reform Act of 1996 requires the

Secretary of Agriculture to provide

loans to processors of

(1) domestically grown sugarcane at

a rate equal to 18.0 cents per pound

for raw cane sugar, and

(2) domestically grown sugar beets

at a rate equal to 22.9 cents per

pound for refined beet sugar, for the

1996 through 2002 crops.

Loans are nonrecourse if the

tariff-rate import quota (TRQ) is

established above 1.5 million short

tons, raw value, at any time during

the fiscal year. Otherwise, loans are

recourse (i.e., loans cannot be settled

by forfeiture of the sugar loan collateral but must be repaid like any other

commercial loan).

Processors who forfeit sugar pledged

as collateral for a nonrecourse loan

will face a penalty of 1 cent per pound

for raw cane sugar and 1.07 cents

per pound for refined beet sugar.

Sugar loans are available beginning

October 1 each fiscal year. Loans are

made for nine months, but all loans

must be liquidated by the end of the

fiscal year (September 30) in which

the loan was made. However, processors receiving loans in July,

Regional Loan Rates

Regional loan rates reflect adjustments for the actual regional freight

costs between the individual production regions and their respective

normal destinations.

 Loan Rates in Cents Per Pound of Cane Sugar or Beet Sugar

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

Processing State or Region

and Sugar Type

Raw Cane Sugar:

Florida 17.85 17.88 17.88 17.88 17.85

Hawaii 17.90 17.92 17.77 17.77 17.74

Louisiana 18.35 18.28 18.30 18.30 18.30

Texas 18.09 18.10 18.06 18.06 18.01

Puerto Rico 18.13 18.13 18.09 18.09 18.14

Refined Beet Sugar:

1. Mich. & Ohio 24.26 23.51 23.79 23.79 23.80

2. Minn. & E 1/2 N.D. 23.41 22.96 22.73 22.73 22.73

3. Colo., Neb., SE 1/4 Wyo. 23.11 22.54 23.01 23.01 23.45

4. Texas 23.99 23.51 23.61 23.61 23.88

5. Mont., NW 1/4 Wyo.,

 W 1/2 N.D. 22.98 22.44 22.19 22.19 22.39

6. E Idaho & northward 22.99 22.46 22.48 22.48 22.40

7. W Idaho & northward 22.99 22.46 22.48 22.48 22.40

8. California 23.86 23.48 23.62 23.62 23.82

August, or September may repledge

the sugar as collateral for a supplemental loan the following October.
Regional Support Prices

When nonrecourse loans are in

effect, processors who execute a

note and security agreement in

order to be eligible to receive sugar

loans, as prescribed by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC),

shall be required to pay eligible

producers a minimum price for

sugarcane or sugar beets delivered

for processing.

Marketing Allotments

The 1996 Act suspended through

the 2002 crop, authority provided by

the Agricultural Adjustment Act of

1938, as amended, to provide for

marketing allotments (supply control) on sugar and crystalline fructose.

Fact Sheet

Sugarcane and Sugar Beets

Marketing Assessments

During each of fiscal years 1997

through 2003, a non-refundable

marketing assessment of .2475

cents per pound of raw cane sugar,

and .2654 cents per pound of

refined beet sugar shall be collected on each pound of sugar

marketed. The assessments are

remitted to CCC by the last day of

the month following the month the

sugar was marketed.

 Minimum Price Support in Dollars Per Ton of Sugarcane *

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

State or Region and Sugar Crop

Sugarcane:

Florida 25.90 25.75 25.75 25.75 25.17

Hawaii 23.37 23.80 23.79 23.79 23.28

Louisiana 22.58 22.55 22.87 22.87 22.97

Texas 20.24 20.70 21.51 21.51 20.37

Puerto Rico 17.58 18.20 18.26 18.26 16.69

*

The United States Department of Agriculture

(USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its

programs and activites on the basis of race,

color, national origin, gender, religion, age,

disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and

marital or family status. (Not all prohibited

bases apply to all programs.) Persons with

disabilities who require alternative means for

communication of program information (Braille,

large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact

USDA’s TARGET Center at 202-720-2600

(voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write

USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room

326-W, Whitten Building, 14th & Independence

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or

call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is

an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Starting with the 1994 crop, the minimum

payment level for sugar beets is the payment

specified in the grower’s contract for a net

selling price (NSP) equal to the loan rate less

the national average fixed marketing costs. At

that NSP, the minimum payment would be based

on the average sugar content for the grower’s

sugar beets. Processors will be advised of the

minimum payment levels during the loan

application process.