FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
USDA Announces November 2013 Feedstock Flexibility Program Results and a New CCC Invitation to Sell Sugar for Non-Food Uses
WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 2013 — U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) today announced the results of CCC’s offer made on Nov. 14, 2013, to sell its sugar inventory for bioenergy production under the Feedstock Flexibility Program (FFP). CCC also announced a new invitation to sell the remainder of its recently acquired sugar inventory for both bioenergy production under the Feedstock Flexibility Program and other non-food uses. CCC successfully sold 216,750 short tons to bioenergy producers for $11.3 million under the Nov. 14 offer, but still holds 79,750 tons in inventory.
Today’s invitation reduces the minimum quantity for bids to 5,000 tons and offers sugar for both bioenergy and other non-food uses. This invitation, and all of the Farm Service Agency’s actions to address the 2012 sugar crop-year surplus, can be found on the Farm Service Agency (FSA) Commodity Operations website at www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=coop&topic=pas-sa
CCC acquired 296,500 short tons of sugar on Oct. 1, 2013, in lieu of cash repayments on its remaining 2012 crop year sugar loans. These sugar loan forfeitures were the result of record domestic sugar production, record Mexican sugar imports, and world prices falling below U.S. price support levels for the first time in several years. CCC is prohibited by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 farm bill) from selling its sugar inventory for domestic food use unless there is an emergency sugar shortage.
