WASHINGTON — The US Department of Agriculture in the Sept. 30 Federal Register announced fiscal 2025 initial domestic beet and cane sugar marketing allotments and allocations and revised 2023-24 cane sugar marketing allotments and cane processor allocations.
The USDA established the 2024-25 Overall Allotment Quantity (OAQ) at 10,455,000 short tons, raw value, equal to 85% of the domestic human sugar consumption quantity estimated at 12,300,000 tons in the September World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report and down 212,500 tons from the initial 2023-24 OAQ. Of the total, 45.65%, or 5,682,293 tons, was distributed among beet processors and 45.65%, or 4,772,708 tons, was distributed among cane processors in the two remaining sugar cane producing states, all according to statute set in the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 as amended.
Beet sugar processors’ marketing allocations for 2024-25 (fiscal 2025) included: Amalgamated Sugar Co., 1,216,622 tons; American Crystal Sugar Co., 2,089,791 tons; Michigan Sugar Co., 586,842 tons; Minn-Dak Farmers Co-op, 394,629 tons; Southern Minn Beet Sugar Co-op, 766,929 tons; Western Sugar Co., 579,901 tons; and Wyoming Sugar Co., LLC, 47,579 tons.
Cane sugar state allotments for 2024-25 were: Florida, 2,690,953 tons; and Louisiana, 2,081,755 tons. Texas no longer produces sugar cane, and its previous allotment of 222,999 tons was reallocated to Florida (125,732 tons) and Louisiana (97,267 tons), both reflected in the state allotments.
Cane sugar processors’ marketing allocations for 2024-25 were: Florida — Florida Crystals, 1,107,936 tons; Growers Co-op of Florida, 484,063 tons; and US Sugar Corp., 1,098,954 tons; Louisiana — Sugar Growers and Refiners, 1,445,222 tons; and M.A. Patout & Sons, 636,533 tons.
For the current year, the USDA reassigned 40,000 tons of domestic cane sugar allotments and allocations to imports already anticipated. The revisions included a 38,826-ton deficit in Florida and a 19,418-ton deficit in Texas, of which 18,244 tons were allotted to Louisiana, with the remaining 40,000 tons reassigned to imports. Cane processor marketing allocations were adjusted for Florida as follows: Florida Crystals (down 42,031 tons), US Sugar Corp. (down 19,784 tons) and Growers Co-op of Florida (up 22,988 tons); for Louisiana Sugar Growers and Refiners (up 18,244 tons); and for Texas Rio Grande Valley (down 19,418 tons).
No reassignments were made to 2023-24 beet sugar allocations “at this time given the uncertainty about how much beet sugar will be produced from new crop sugar beets in the final two months (August-September) of FY 2024,” the USDA said.
The USDA on Oct. 13, 2023, announced the initial 2023-24 OAQ at 10,667,500 tons, equal to 85% of domestic needs for the year that totaled 12,550,000 tons as forecast in the September 2023 WASDE report. The beet sugar allotment initially was 5,797,786 tons and the cane allotment was 4,868,714 tons. On Aug. 2 the USDA announced revisions to state cane sugar allotments and cane processor allocations and revisions to beet processor allocations, with deficits reassigned to raw cane sugar imports already anticipated. After the actions taken Aug. 2, the beet sector allotment was reduced by 250,000 tons, to 5,547,786 tons, and the cane sector allotment was reduced by 600,000 tons, to 4,269,714 tons. The amount of the reductions (850,000 tons) was reassigned to raw cane imports already anticipated, so the total OAQ remained at 10,667,500 tons, per the USDA. In the Sept. 30 action, the beet sugar allotment for 2023-24 was unchanged, and the cane sugar allotment was reduced to 4,229,714 tons.
