Shortage of sugar coming (also a spike in the price of ethanol)

Toronto Globe and Mail ^ | August 16, 2009 | Boyd Erman

[george76]

Get ready for the sugar shock.

Raw sugar futures have almost doubled this year amid fears of a shortage, which could lead to slightly higher prices for candy but also a spike in the price of ethanol.

Much of the rise in sugar prices has come in just the past few weeks as drier-than-normal weather in India, the world's largest consumer, threatens to leave production there far short of demand...

The bigger impact may be felt at the gas pump, where the sugar shortfall is likely to drive up the cost of ethanol, increasingly used as a substitute for gasoline. About 60 percent of the world's ethanol is manufactured from sugar.

Coming as oil prices top $70 a barrel, it's a double dose of pain for motorists.

"As far as something having a direct jolt on the consumer, you're probably more likely to see it at the gas pump because of the ethanol,"

[george76]

Obama is at fault.

Trying to give up smoking has increased his sugar intake ?

Plus those import quotas.

.

[omega4179]

LET IT BE entered in the record that food shortages and double digit unemployment where on Obama (D,IL) watch.

[ConservativeMan55]

bttt

[svcw]

Since Barry wants to ration health care, will he start rationing food?

[Springman]

Well, you can get real sugar in soft drinks in Canada. Maybe for not much longer?

[pnh102]

How is the supply of corn, which is wasted to make ethanol, impacted by the price of raw sugar, which comes from a different plant?

[FrankR]

"The bigger impact may be felt at the gas pump, where the sugar shortfall is likely to drive up the cost of ethanol, increasingly used as a substitute for gasoline. About 60 percent of the world's ethanol is manufactured from sugar. "

More "unintended consequences" from the greenielefties.

I say just take the danged stuff out of the gasoline, it's drying out my manifold gaskets anyway.

Cars ran fine on gasoline until the "ethynol" bandits found a new way to defraud the public and make a forture doing it...meanwhile drying up our food supplies.

We sitting on zillions of barrels of offshore and alaskan oil, and we are letting the obamaites of the world tell us "no" to using it...meanwhile, we're depleting our food supply.

[george76]

http://www.mongabay.com/images/commodities/charts/sugar.html

[sanjoaquinvalley]

Anyone here have any expertize on planting and raising sugarcane ? I’m not willing to do without.

[don-o]

Maybe that explains whi I saw a guy with a 25 pound bag of sugar in his cart today? Maybe better go get me some?

[healy61]

They are growing plenty of sugar beets in Michigan. That would be Pioneer Sugar. We don’t buy imported surgar.

[null and void]

Obama is at fault.

Aye. Any excuse to normalize relations with communist Cuba...

[Minutemen]

I will give up sugar before I consider growing cane

[healy61]

And there is sorghum molasses in Kentucky. Takes getting used to, but is great on a bisket. And Union City Michigan still bottles maple syrup for fund raisers by the civic organizations. Screw sugar cane.

[wombtotomb]

South Florida is owned by big sugar........

[Star Traveler]

Well, I knew a long time ago, that it was stupid to put people’s food in the gas tank... LOL...

[BradtotheBone]

How is the supply of corn, which is wasted to make ethanol, impacted by the price of raw sugar, which comes from a different plant?

Because it will become more cost effective to use corn syrup than sugar in some products.

[weef]

As long as there’s no shortage of high fructose corn syrup we’ll be fine...

[sanjoaquinvalley]

Yes, but would it grown in a hot dusty area like central California? You know the health nazis could make it a controlled substance at the rate they are going.

[Neidermeyer]

South Florida is owned by big sugar........
**********************************************
No more ,, Crist bought all of big sugars land to return it to nature... they’re shut down... sugar prices are controlled by the corn lobby ,, always have been..

[Charles Martel]

How is the supply of corn, which is wasted to make ethanol, impacted by the price of raw sugar, which comes from a different plant?

In other parts of the globe, sugar beets are used to make ethanol.

[fanfan]

Not for long.

Our chocolate changed last year. It sucks now.

[wombtotomb]

I doubt it. Everywhere I ever heard of it growing was tropical in nature, warm, humid, wet.

We don’t eat sugar in this house anymore. We carb dumped to get the weight off and lower blood pressure. Also have alot of family members with diabetes and don’t want to add to that tally.

Now if only we could kick tobaccooooooo

[sanjoaquinvalley]

Yes they took out the very part that was beneficial. Hersheys no longer have a strong taste to them. Much more bland now.

[nascarnation]

The corn crop here in the central Illinois/Indiana area looks phenomenal. We had a late planting due to cold rainy spring weather (thanks Algore) but a temperate summer with frequent rain has produced a great looking crop.

[hkp123]

No shortage of high fructose corn syrup, is there? I’ve already stocked up on sugar. I can, freeze, preserve etc when the crops are ready. I paid 11 bucks each for 25 pound bags of sugar.
I already grow tobacco for my own use. What’s next - sugar cane? Bet I can. Watch out for the smoke from the fires. My best advice to you folks is stock up on food and other essentials while and if you can. The worst is yet to come. I believe that this week and next are going to be very telling on the future of this country.

[fanfan]

Hershey’s chocolate tastes like plastic.

I buy Swiss now.

[Magnatron]

“How is the supply of corn, which is wasted to make ethanol, impacted by the price of raw sugar, which comes from a different plant?”

“Because it will become more cost effective to use corn syrup than sugar in some products.”

It already has. The corn lobby in this country paid big bucks back in the 80s and 90s to get heavy tariffs placed on sugar. This is why you don’t see any sweetened products with sugar any more. You’ll only find high fructose corn syrup. The corn lobby would love to see sugar prices spike. It only solidifies their position - and allows them to raise their own prices (hence the surgar vs corn price impact).

[sanjoaquinvalley]

It used to have a strong almost bitter taste like cooking chocolate, not even the same product anymore. Chocolate is like coffee, tea and cheese - it should be bold and strong.

[fanfan]

Welcome to FRee Republic.

[Balding_Eagle]

Yeah, this is a lot of hype over a temporary situation.

See my tagline, it’s been true for over 50 years, and is true this year also.

[EBH]

Food Safety Enhancement Act HR 2749
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h2749/show

Food and farm warrior, Marti Oakley, spends nearly an hour discussing the corporate take-over of our food supply thru various laws, regulations and international trade agreements. Spend an hour listening to this radio interview – for the facts and overview, but also to get to know her, a true freedom-lover fighting multi-national corporations.
http://coto2.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/marti-oakley-busts-big-ags-food-control-plans-codex-nais-hr-2749-hr-875/

[fanfan]

Well.

“Happy summer” to you too.

:-)

[mylife]

In America, First you get the Sugar, Then you get the Power, Then... You get the Women...

[Springman]

Sorry to hear that, Mrs. Springman loved the Coke she had in Windsor.

Real cane sugar. Now it will be HFCS, that stuff stinks. Also the makers of HFCS claim you can’t tell the difference, BS!!!

[piasa]

I've got some growing by my swamp. Any time you want a new plant you can just baend a stalk over and it will root at every node, or just cut up a stalk into lengths of two nodes each and stick one end down in the ground far enough to cover the first node. It'll sprout soon enough. I grow it as a treat for my animals, for swizzle sticks, to chew on when working outside and to use as shishkabob skewers but in a socialized economy I might have to plant a field of it so I can boil it down. [On the other hand, beekeeping would be less work.]

There's another plant called sweetleaf aka stevia which is shockingly sweet in very small quantities and tastes better than artificial sweeteners... though if you're used to cane sugar it tastes a slightly off, as does beet sugar. The plus side is it's calorie free and does not require boiling down to concentrate it- one little mashed up leaf will sweeten a glass of tea. It's not a grass like cane. I think Splenda is made from stevia.

[mylife]

Sweet thread over here. See Post #34 L0L!

[MS.BEHAVIN]

LOL!

[mylife]

Gawd! That cracks me up!

[piasa]

It likes damp, even wet soil unfortunately. You’d be better off with stevia or bees.

[NRA2BFree]

IF there were any leadership in the RAT party they would have started drilling for oil when it became a big issue before. This will be laid at the feet of those corrupt RATS who sold us out to environ_MENTAL campaign contributors! There will probably be big problems again this winter because of sugar and corn shortages!

[BradyLS]

Shortage on sugar? Hell, I’ve been on short-rations my whole life! :-D

[UB355]

BS

[fight_truth_decay]

If the population is eating far less sugar/carbs in their diet; plus all the "sweeteners" (splenda-like 0 calories, etc) that do so compete; which I prefer, I can't see why even if used in some ethanols, why there would be a shortage.

Just something to engineer a panic over. Boosts slow sales. All shortages are started by a panic story which scares the doom and gloomers into panic buying. Then stores have been known to hoard sugar to make the prices go up.

[svcw]

Thanks

[Taffini]

>>>it should be bold and strong.

How I like my men

[FrankR]

"They are growing plenty of sugar beets in Michigan. That would be Pioneer Sugar. We don’t buy imported surgar. "

I still want it (ethynol) out of my gas tank.

[glorgau]

This is just on of another of the many attempts to game a commodities market. Lets hear the analysts tell us about $200/barrel oil again.

[fight_truth_decay]

I knew there was more to this story:

biotech firms investing in sugar cane
Author: GRAIN, Date: April 2009, Corporate Candyland

Someone always seems to gain in a "predicted shortage" of anything. Then the media carries it and...repeating themselves verbatim with no research..money is made.

[kcvl]

South Florida is owned by big sugar........

So is South Louisiana.

Landrieu praised last week's passage of the 2007 Farm Bill, which includes provisions that help Louisiana's 20,000 farmers.

The biggest beneficiaries are sugar producers, who will get an increase in government-backed loan rates from 18 cents to 18.75 cents per pound over the next three years.

It is the first loan rate raise since 1985; however, Landrieu has plans for the sugar industry.

"My vision for sugar is to use the cellulolytic biomass of crops grown here to start producing fuels we need and move us away from gasoline and carbon-based fuels," she said. "This is a real exciting opportunity for south Louisiana."