SUGAR AND SWEETENER -- SUMMARY December 02, 1998 December 1998, SSS-224 Approved by the World Agricultural Outlook Board --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SUMMARY is published by the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20036-5831. The complete text of the report will be available 3-4 weeks following this summary release. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Sugarbeet Production in 1998 Expected To Set Record The National Agricultural Statistics Service pegs the 1998 U.S. sugarbeet crop at 32.4 million tons, which if realized, would represent a record. Acreage harvested is estimated at slightly below 1.46 million acres, 2 percent above the previous year. National yield is estimated at 22.3 tons per acre, slightly below records set in 1981 and 1987. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) analysis projects sugar tonnage per harvested acre to be above historical trends at 3.09 tons, and total production at 4.5 million tons. Florida cane for sugar is projected at 15.468 million tons. Sugar per harvested acre is projected at about 4.40 tons and total raw sugar production at 1.89 million short tons, raw value (STRV). Although Louisiana cane yields are forecast at 27.0 tons per acre (down from the record 28.16 tons per acre the previous year), increased acreage offsets much of the yield decrease. The current Louisiana cane sugar production is projected at 1.22 million STRV. The recent precipitation in Texas following a hot and dry summer has raised concerns regarding the sugar content of the State's cane crop. Texas' cane sugar is projected at 90,000 STRV. Hawaii is expected to produce about the same amount of sugar as the year just completed -- 340,000 STRV. Recent hurricane damage will limit Puerto Rico's production to an estimated 7,000 STRV. The 1998/99 U.S. cane sugar produced should be 3.547 million STRV. The tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for fiscal year 1999 for raw, refined, and specialty sugars were announced on September 17, 1998. The raw sugar TRQ was initially set by USDA at 1,780,164 STRV and 1,284,133 was made available for allocation by the U.S. Trade Representative. TRQ tranches of 165,347 STRV will be allocated in January, March, and May if the ending fiscal year stocks-to-use ratio projection, as published in the USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, in those same months is equal to or below 15.5 percent. The refined sugar TRQ was set at 55,116 STRV. Non-TRQ imports are projected at 445,000 STRV. Total sugar deliveries for consumption are currently projected at 10.025 million STRV. Sugar exports from the Refined Sugar Re-Export Program are expected to total 175,000 STRV. Sugar production in Mexico is projected at 5.1 million metric tons (mmt), raw value, for 1998/99 (November/October). Mexico produced a record cane sugar crop of about 5.49 mmt, raw value, during 1997/98. Consumption is projected at 4.13 mmt for 1998/99, down from an estimated 4.2 mmt in 1997/98. Mexican sugar exports are projected at 1.00 mmt for 1998/99, down from an estimated 1.28 mmt for 1997/98. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) production for calendar year 1998 is forecast at 9.155 million short tons, dry weight. This level represents a 5.5-percent growth over 1997. The production of HFCS-55 is projected to grow 7 percent compared with about 3 percent growth for HFCS-42. HFCS-55 exports through the third quarter of 1998 are up 37 percent from a year earlier. Exports are estimated to constitute 6.2 percent of domestic production, up from 3.7 percent in 1996 and 4.7 percent in 1997. HFCS-42 domestic deliveries are forecast to grow only 2.4 percent in 1998, and exports remain a relatively minor share of production. Printed copies of the Sugar and Sweeteners Situation and Outlook report will be available in about a week. For more information, contact Stephen Haley 202-694-5247. This issue contains three special articles, "Sugar in Mexico: Policy Environment and Production Trends," "The Rise and Decline of Puerto Rico's Sugar Economy," and "Implications of NAFTA's Duty Reduction for the U.S. Sugar Market." The text of the report will also be available electronically, for details call 202-694-5050. END_OF_FILE