As usual, USDA set the tariff-rate quota at 1,117,195 tons, the minimum required under trade agreements. It will re-visit quota levels quarterly. To read the Federal Register notice, click here.
The government does not expect to sell surplus sugar at a discount to ethanol makers during the new fiscal year. Sugar supplies are forecast to be fairly tight during fiscal 2015, shrinking to a carryover of 837 million short tons, compared to a surplus of 2.16 million tons in fiscal 2013. USDA says “sugar loan collateral forfeitures are unlikely” and so “it does not expect to purchase sugar under the Feedstock Flexibility Program in fiscal year 2015.” The feedstock program was created in 2008 to shunt surplus sugar out of the food supply and to develop alternatives to corn in producing biofuels.
As usual, USDA set the tariff-rate quota at 1,117,195 tons, the minimum required under trade agreements. It will re-visit quota levels quarterly. To read the Federal Register notice, click here.