Sugar Producer

18 Sugar Producer AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 FROM THE ASGA By Luther Markwart | EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Staying Vigilant Things look good for the sugar industry, but we shouldn't rest on our laurels. It has been a tough year for farmers. A very late, wet spring coupled with commodity, prices driven down by the effects of retaliation in the trade negotiation scuffle, has taken a heavy toll on producers. It is simply heart-wrenching. While government payments to some commodities help offset the loss of foreign markets, they are no replacement for good weather and good customers. Fortunately, given the multitude of variables in the sugar market, the USDA has done a good job keeping it in balance during this period. We are expecting to have the lowest stocks (13.6 percent) since 2010-11, and it should be only the fourth time in the past 23 years we have had stocks below 14 percent. That is very good news for sugarbeet growers. As the 2019 crop moves toward harvest, we need the USDA to continue to practice its cautious discipline in balancing the sugar market. During the House consideration of the 2020 agriculture appropriations in June, Congressman Scott Perry of Pennsylvania filed three harmful amendments that would have effectively dismantled the U.S. Sugar Program. After a flurry of activity by Washington sugar reps and our congressional champions, none of the amendments were even allowed to be debated. These are the kinds of nuisance activities by our opponents that have to be dealt with annually in between farm bills. We must always be vigilant and always be ready. While the House had passed 10 of the 12 appropriations bills by the end of June, the Senate had not started, and there was no agreement on the annual budget. The process still leaves the door open in the Senate for attacks on sugar producers, though the opportunities are very unlikely given the urgency to complete the process of funding the government, which must be complete by Sept. 30. As we look to the fall, trade agreements and negotiations will be a major focus. The updated free trade agreement with our largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, needs congressional approval; a new agreement with Japan should be completed rapidly; and a deal with China will be the most significant and difficult of all. Our country needs these agreements to be settled for economic and strategic reasons, and the president needs them completed for political reasons. As we look to the fall, trade agreements and negotiations will be a major focus. Our country needs these trade agreements to be settled for economic and strategic reasons, and the president needs them completed for political reasons.

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