Back to the RadioSpace™ home page
NewsDirect story topics:
Consumer, Business & General Interest
Current Events & Public Affairs
Entertainment & Sports
Health & Medicine
Lower Prices for Sugar in the U.S. Aren't Translating into Lower Prices for Various Foods
Fully produced report in:
MP3 format
Ogg
Vorbis format
QuickTime
(MPEG-4/AAC) format
Windows Media Audio
9.2 format
(73 seconds)
-- How Will You Use This Story? --
(OPEN):
U-S SUGAR-PRICES HAVE BEEN IN
FREEFALL--EVER SINCE MEXICO BROKE AMERICA'S TRADE-LAWS, AND FLOODED THE MARKET WITH SUBSIDIZED SUGAR, IN 2013 AND 2014.
BUT, YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T NOTICE. THAT'S BECAUSE THE FOOD-COMPANIES THAT BOUGHT THE SUGAR POCKETED THE SAVINGS, AS
PROFIT--INSTEAD OF PASSING THEM ALONG TO CONSUMERS, WITH LOWER PRICES--SAYS JACK RONEY
[AS IN "TONY"], OF THE "AMERICAN SUGAR
ALLIANCE"...
(RONEY):
"SUGAR ACTUALLY COSTS LESS TODAY THAN IT DID IN THE
19-80'S. BUT, THAT HASN'T MEANT CHEAPER CANDY, CAKES, OR COOKIES.
FOR EXAMPLE, OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, SUGAR-PRICES HAVE BEEN FALLING--AND YET, THE PRICE OF A CANDY-BAR HAS BEEN RISING, BY 10 CENTS.
PUT ANOTHER WAY: SHOPPERS ARE PAYING MORE AT THE CHECKOUT-LINE, FARMERS ARE SEEING LESS OF EACH FOOD-DOLLAR, AND FOOD-MANUFACTURERS ARE MAKING BIGGER PROFITS."
(CLOSE):
IN JUNE, THE U-S AND MEXICAN GOVERNMENTS FINALLY REACHED AN AGREEMENT, TO END THE SUBSIDIZED-SUGAR DUMP.
RONEY HOPES THAT THIS MEANS BETTER PRICES FOR U-S FARMERS--BUT WARNS OF ONE POTENTIAL ROADBLOCK:
FOOD-COMPANIES ARE NOW LOBBYING CONGRESS, TO ALLOW A FLOOD OF SUBSIDIZED SUGAR FROM BRAZIL AND
THAILAND--AMONG OTHER COUNTRIES. LEARN MORE AT "SUGAR-ALLIANCE"-DOT-ORG.
FOR THE "INTERNATIONAL SWEETENER SYMPOSIUM" IN SAN DIEGO, I'M
ERIC JON MAGNUSON.
For more audio from many of those participating in the 34th-annual
International Sweetener Symposium, click
here.
