US: USDA announces no actions under feedstock flexibility program

Sugar

United States

Regulation & Compliances

Innovation & Technology

Published Mar 26, 2024

Tridge summary

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation has announced that for the 2023 crop year, it does not foresee the need to buy and sell sugar under the Feedstock Flexibility Program, thanks to projections from the March 8, 2024, World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. This report suggests that U.S. sugar stocks are expected to be sufficient to avoid loan forfeitures by sugar processors, negating the need for the program designed to support sugar prices by purchasing surplus sugar for bioenergy. The USDA will continue to monitor the sugar market and plans to provide the next quarterly update by July 1, 2024, ensuring the sugar program is managed transparently and effectively.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by a state-of-the-art LLM model and is intended for informational purposes only. It is recommended that readers refer to the original article for more context.

Original content

Contact: FPAC.BC.Press@usda.gov WASHINGTON, March 25, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) announced today that it does not expect to purchase and sell sugar under the Feedstock Flexibility Program for crop year 2023, which runs from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024. The CCC is required by law to quarterly announce estimates of sugar to be purchased and sold under the Feedstock Flexibility Program based on crop and consumption forecasts. Federal law allows sugar processors to obtain loans from USDA with maturities of up to nine months when the sugarcane or sugar beet harvests begin. On loan maturity, the sugar processor may repay the loan in full or forfeit the collateral (sugar) to USDA to satisfy the loan. The Feedstock Flexibility Program, initially authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, was reauthorized by Congress in the 2018 Farm Bill as an option to avoid sugar forfeitures. Under the Feedstock Flexibility Program, if USDA is faced ...

Source: USDA