CHICAGO—Citing forecasts for record domestic sugar shortages that could raise retail prices and spur job losses, large U.S. food companies have been asking the Obama administration to ease sugar import curbs, reported Reuters.
The companies and groups, including Kraft Foods, Inc., General Mills, Inc. and Hershey Co., sent a letter Aug. 5 to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stating that "our nation will virtually run out of sugar," if a USDA forecast is accurate.
However, U.S. sugar growers reject claims by confectionary companies that the United States is running short of sugar, arguing that supplies will improve as the U.S. beet and cane harvest gets underway, Reuters reported.
"There is absolutely no shortage of sugar here," Jack Roney, director of economic and policy analysis of industry group American Sugar Alliance.
