Sugar Producer

30 Sugar Producer FEBRUARY 2017 When a North Carolina man, armed with an assault rifle, shot up a popular pizza joint in our nation's capital, people started to take note of the recent rise in "fake news." The armed intruder made the more than five-hour drive from his home to Washington, D.C., to bust up a child sex slave ring that was supposedly housed out of the restaurant and backed by former Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Hillary Clinton. It is a bizarre and obvious lie that would be laughable if weren't believed by so many. When the assailant arrived, he found ping pong tables where cells were supposed to be, and soon, he found himself in a cell of his own thanks to the efforts of D.C.'s finest. Fake news stories like this circulated like wild fire during the election— completely fabricated pieces meant to sway votes and designed to go viral on social media by preying on people's fears and political intensity. Agriculture has been subjected to fake news for decades—albeit far less violent results. Our political opponents have long recycled out-of-date information and intentionally misled readers in hopes of ripping holes in the farm safety net and furthering their own political agendas. For example, take the oft-repeated "news" of NBA players and billionaires pocketing millions in farm subsidies. It sounds terrible, but it's not occurring. Any loophole that would've allowed for such abuse was closed long, long ago. Then there's the one about the Saudi Prince exploiting America's crop insurance system and taking unsuspecting taxpayers to the cleaners. Again, it sounds really bad. And again, it would be if it weren't 100 percent false. Laws are on the books to prevent anything like that from happening. FROM THE ASA By Phillip Hayes | Director of Media Relations #FakeFarmNews We, in sugar, are particularly familiar with constantly beating back fake accusations of huge subsidy checks flowing to sugar growers; sky-high U.S. prices that are 2, 3, 4, 5 times more expensive than the global average; and the steady economic decline of the candy industry. It's all false, just like NBA farmers and the Saudi Prince, who thinks crop insurance is more lucrative than his own country's oil fields. Sadly, attacks like these are intensifying even though sugar prices in America are currently lower than in most foreign markets; sugar policy's share of the federal budget remains steady at $0; and confectioners are proudly announcing big U.S. expansion plans and adding jobs. When we encounter "Fake Farm News," we try to set the record straight. But it can be a full-time job, which is why the American Sugar Alliance is urging anyone who sees something to say something—on social media. Since these stories are built to be circulated on Facebook and Twitter, why not use Facebook and Twitter to hold the author and the publication accountable for pieces that are factually incorrect. Feel free to use the hashtag #FakeFarmNews that some in agriculture are starting to employ in their social media campaigns. And if you're looking for some real facts to use in your responses, check out the bullet points below, which we recently sent to the author of a Fake Farm News piece. Thank you for helping us spread good news about sugar and agriculture. • Confectioners do not purchase raw cane sugar Despite this simple fact, you only compared prices of raw cane sugar, which must be further refined before it is fit for human consumption. Future analysis should cite wholesale refined prices to give readers a true sense of what food makers are paying domestically and abroad. • Global sugar prices exclude shipping costs, whereas U.S. prices include them By failing to take this into account, you assume that global suppliers will ship for free, which they will not. To arrive at a true apples-to-apples price comparison, it is important to add 6 cents per pound to global prices, which is the average cost of delivering refined sugar from the world market to the United States. • U.S. prices are currently cheaper than global prices U.S. wholesale refined sugar prices (what confectioners pay) averaged 28.5 cents per pound in November, according to the USDA's Sugar and Sweeteners Yearbook—an unbiased, government source of global pricing information. Conversely, world price plus freight was 30.93 cents per pound, or 9 percent more expensive than U.S. sugar. • U.S. prices are cheaper than Mexican sugar prices Food makers pay more for sugar in Mexico than the United States. Current Mexican prices are 33.5 cents per pound—18 percent higher than U.S. wholesale refined prices. This tells us that labor, tax, and regulatory advantages are far more likely culprits for relocation, as with the many other U.S. manufacturing- company moves to Mexico. Challenge misleading, false reports

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