By Ron Sterk
Food & Business News
WASHINGTON — The US Department of Agriculture in its Oct. 12 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report raised from September its estimate of 2020-21 sugar ending stocks but lowered its forecast for 2021-22 ending stocks as lower imports and lower cane sugar production more than offset higher beginning stocks and higher beet sugar production.
For 2020-21, which ended Sept. 30, the USDA lowered domestic cane sugar production by about 20,000 tons, raw value, as a late start to the sugar cane harvest in Louisiana pushed more sugar into the new marketing year. Beet sugar production was unchanged from September.