Sugar brokers said that the increased raw-sugar import quota last month signaled that "maybe they were not able to obtain the full amount needed." Raw sugar for October rose 3 percent to 20.07 cents a pound and refined sugar for October rose 3.4 percent to $577.20 a metric ton.
Traders and analysts in a Bloomberg survey, however, forecast lower sugar prices next week "on signs that supplies were becoming more available amid forecasts of a sugar surplus starting in October."
These concerns were prompted by a ruling from a California District Court on August 13, 2010 in Center for Food Safety, et al. v. Vilsack. The court revoked USDA's approval of genetically modified (GM) sugar beets until an environmental impact statement is completed, which could take years. For more information about this ruling, click here to read a US Ag&Food Law and Policy blog post on the subject.
The Associated Press reports that sugar beet growers are concerned about the ruling and are waiting for USDA to decide the next step for the crop. Sugar beets provide about one half of the sugar in the United States and growers are concerned that if GM seeds cannot be used, there will not be enough conventional seed to plant next year.
Robert Green, a North Dakota beet grower, indicated his confidence that he would plant sugar beets next spring, saying "Sugar beets provide half the sugar for this country, and I don't believe they will make the requirements so stringent people will go without sugar."
To read the Bloomberg story, click here.
To read the Associated Press story, click here.
Posted: 8/20/2010
