Sugar Reform Coalition Testifies Before Senate Committee on 2012 Farm Bill

On March 14, 2012, the Coalition for Sugar Reform submitted testimony to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, lambasting the current sugar program as outmoded and counterproductive, and calling for its abolishment or revamp in the upcoming 2012 Farm Bill. According to the testimony, U.S. sugar subsidies hurt consumers by artificially raising prices, hurt small businesses by artificially restricting supplies, and hurt workers by encouraging relocation of manufacturing facilities offshore. The Coalition stated that, due to changes to the sugar subsidy regime in the 2008 Farm Bill, U.S. sugar prices are currently at record highs and are substantially higher than world prices.

(See ITT's Online Archives 08051905 for summary of 2008 Farm Bill, including new provisions on the establishment of sugar quotas by the Department of Agriculture. See also ITT's Online Archives 12031505 for March 15, 2012 summary on commodity quotas close to filling, including sugar quotas.)