Introduction to the Sugar Policy Series ¹

Jose Alvarez and Leo C. Polopolus²

The sugar policy series discusses policy issues facing the U.S. sweetener industry in general and Florida's sweetener industry in particular. From both a domestic and an international perspective, the industry is at a crucial point. Although no major changes have been made to the sugar program in the last Farm Bills, sugar has continued to be one of the most controversial commodities during the debates in the U.S. Congress. The final results of the Uruguay Round of the Generalized Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), approved in December 1993, took effect in July 1995. The signed agreement contained reductions on tariff and non-tariff barriers as a starting point for trade liberalization. GATT's successor, the World Trade Organization (WTO), is working for freer trade. However, very little has been done in the area of subsidy reductions. In addition, the United States and most of the developed world have experienced a tremendous growth in competitive products, including both natural and artificial sweeteners. These complex domestic and international policy issues, combined with increased competition from other products, has transformed the previous sugar market into a sweetener market. This series is intended to keep the interested reader informed and updated on major aspects of domestic and international changes in sweetener policy.

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Footnotes

1. This is EDIS document SC 018, a publication of the Department of Food and Resource Economics, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. First published May 1991; revised June 2002. Reviewed October 2008. This publication is also part of the Florida Sugarcane Handbook, an electronic publication of the Department of Agronomy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. For more information, you may contact the editor of the Sugarcane Handbook, Dr. R.A. Gilbert (ragilber@ufl.edu), Everglades Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Belle Glade, FL 33430. Please visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2. Jose Alvarez, Professor, Department of Food and Resource Economics, Everglades Research and Education Center, Belle Glade, FL; and Leo C. Polopolus, Professor Emeritus, Department of Food and Resource Economics, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

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The use of trade names in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing specific information. UF/IFAS does not guarantee or warranty the products named, and references to them in this publication does not signify our approval to the exclusion of other products of suitable composition.

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The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.