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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Commodity Credit Corporation

NOTICE: NOTICES

DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice.

SUBJECT CATEGORY: Domestic Sugar Program--Revisions of 2002-Crop Sugar Marketing Allotments and Allocations

DOCUMENT SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) increased the 2002-crop overall allotment quantity (OAQ) of domestic sugar by 463,000 short tons, raw value (STRV) to 8.663 million STRV on May 13, 2003. In addition, CCC reassigned unused cane and beet sugar allocations between respective processors on May 19, 2003.

SUMMARY: Domestic sugar program; crop sugar marketing allotments and allocations,

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

Section 359c of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1359c), as amended, requires adjustments to marketing allotments and allocations quarterly, as CCC determines appropriate, to reflect changes in estimated sugar consumption, stocks, production, or imports. The initial OAQ amount set in August 2002 for the 2002 crop year was 7.7 million STRV. CCC adjusted that to 8.2 million STRV in January 2003. Because market prices for both refined and raw sugar remained well above loan forfeiture levels, CCC again increased the OAQ in May 2003 to make domestic sugar available to the market. The cane sector was allotted 45.65 percent (3.955 million STRV) of the OAQ, while beet received 54.35 percent (4.708 million STRV).

Section 359e(a) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 requires a periodic review to determine (in view of current sugar inventories, estimated sugar production, expected marketings and other pertinent factors) whether (1) any sugarcane processor will be unable to market the sugar covered by the portion of the State cane sugar allotment allocated to the processor; and (2) any sugar beet processor will be unable to market its allocation. Section 359e(b)(1)(B) further provides for the reassignment of the estimated quantity of a State deficit proportionately to the allotments for other cane sugar States (depending on each State's capacity to market) when a State does not have the capacity to fulfill its allotment among its own processors.

In April 2003, CCC surveyed sugarcane and sugar beet processors asking for revisions to 2002crop production and ending stocks estimates for the purpose of calculating reassignments. CCC determined that the cane sector could only fulfill 3.945 million STRV of its allotment. The remaining unfulfilled portion of its allotment, 10,000 STRV, was reassigned to CCC for sale of inventory. However, CCC did not reduce the cane sector allotment 10,000 STRV at that time due to uncertainties in company production estimates provided in the survey. Likewise, it was determined that the beet sector would only be able to fulfill 4.534 million STRV of its new allotment. Thus, 77,641 STRV of beet sugar were reassigned among beet processors. The unfilled balance, 174,000 STRV, was reassigned to CCC for the sale of its inventory.

The allotments/allocations were calculated differently for the cane and beet sectors:
Cane Sector
[sbull] Allotments/allocations were changed to incorporate the 211,360 STRV increase in the cane sugar allotment and the updated 2002 crop production/marketing estimates. (Column C of the attached table). [sbull] Allocations were reduced for processors with surplus allocations and reassigned to processors with surplus supply within the same State. This occurred for Florida and Louisiana (Column D of the attached table).
[sbull] The remaining excess Louisiana allocation that could not be eliminated by reassignment within Louisiana plus excess allocations from Hawaii and Puerto Rico were reassigned to cane processors in Florida and Texas. These two states indicated in the survey that they had a shortfall in allocation for the current crop year (Column E of the attached table).
Beet Sector
[sbull] Allotments/allocations were changed to incorporate the 77,641 STRV increase in the beet sugar allotment (Column C of the attached table).
[sbull] Allocations were reassigned from beet processors with unused allocation, as indicated in the April 2003 survey for the current year, to those indicating an allocation shortfall (Column E of the attached table).

CCC will continue to closely monitor market performance and critical program variables throughout the year to ensure that program objectives are met, including maintaining market balance. Sugar allotment/allocation reassignments will be reevaluated periodically as production estimates improve.

These actions apply to all domestic cane and beet sugar marketed for human consumption in the United States from October l, 2002, through September 30, 2003. The revised 2002crop sugar marketing allotments and allocations (in short tons, raw value) are listed in the following table:
Fiscal Year 2003 Sugar Marketing Allotments and Allocations (Revised May 2003) [Short Raw ValueTons] C Change E Reassignments B Last due to D Cane across all F New allotment/ increase in reassignments processors by allotment/ allocation OAQ within states sector allocation Overall Beet/Cane Allotments:
Beet Sugar........................... 4,456,700 251,641 ................ 0 4,708,341 Cane Sugar (includes P. Rico)........ 3,743,300 211,360 ................ 0 3,954,660

Total OAQ........................ 8,200,000 463,000 ................ 0 8,663,000 Beet Reassignment to CCC............. ........... ........... ................ ................ 174,000 Cane Reassignment to CCC............. ........... ........... ................ ................ 10,000 Allotment Available to Beet.......... ........... ........... ................ ................ 4,534,341 Allotment Available to Cane.......... ........... ........... ................ ................ 3,954,660 Beet Processors' Marketing
Allocations:
Amalgamated Sugar Co................. 975,245 16,176 ................ 15,400 976,021 American Crystal Sugar Co............ 1,593,720 27,854 ................ 32,380 1,653,954 Holly Sugar Corp..................... 299,019 5,209 ................ 5,128 299,100 [[Page 38003]]
Michigan Sugar Co.................... 299,050 4,960 ................ 36,498 340,509 MinnDak Farmers Coop............... 292,029 4,844 ................ 8,194 305,067 Monitor Sugar Co..................... 171,362 2,842 ................ 64 174,268 Pacific Northwest Sugar Co........... 22,314 2,090 ................ 24,023 381 So. Minn Beet Sugar Coop............ 300,708 4,988 ................ 4,910 300,785 Western Sugar Co..................... 443,799 7,642 ................ 4,669 446,772 Wyoming Sugar Co..................... 59,454 1,036 ................ 23,007 37,483

Total Beet Sugar................. 4,456,700 77,641 ................ 0 4,534,341 State Cane Sugar Allotments:
Florida.............................. 1,945,380 112,245 ................ 46,712 2,104,337 Louisiana............................ 1,340,192 86,369 ................ 45,348 1,381,212 Texas................................ 161,625 12,746 ................ 3,956 178,326 Hawaii............................... 295,878 0 ................ 5,094 290,784 Puerto Rico.......................... 225 0 ................ 225 0

Total Cane Sugar................. 3,743,300 211,360 ................ 0 3,954,660 Cane Processors' Marketing
Allocations:
Florida
Atlantic Sugar Assoc............... 148,371 17,509 2,104 0 163,777 Growers Coop. of FL............... 347,976 27,387 1,924 11,802 389,088 Okeelanta Corp..................... 420,688 2,918 3,457 21,211 448,274 Osceola Farms Co................... 229,575 23,154 2,233 13,699 268,661 U.S. Sugar Corp.................... 798,769 41,277 5,510 0 834,536

Total............................ 1,945,381 112,245 0 46,712 2,104,337 Louisiana
Alma Plantation.................... 72,635 4,304 318 0 77,257 Caire & Graugnard.................. 6,091 392 113 279 6,091 Cajun Sugar Coop.................. 101,056 6,293 135 503 106,711 CoraTexas Mfg. Co................. 119,297 7,733 1,081 4,043 121,906 Harry Laws & Co.................... 55,048 3,128 3,816 0 61,992 Iberia Sugar Coop................. 64,543 4,155 993 3,162 64,543 Jeanerette Sugar Co................ 62,422 3,351 453 1,694 63,626 Lafourche Sugars Corp.............. 64,441 4,146 869 3,249 64,470 Louisiana Sugarcane Coop.......... 81,006 5,178 994 3,718 81,471 Lula Westfield, LLC................ 147,826 9,516 2,004 7,497 147,840 M.A. Patout & Sons................. 183,290 10,280 8,603 0 202,174 Raceland Sugars.................... 82,516 6,897 1,112 4,161 84,140 St. Mary Sugar Coop............... 88,669 5,562 1,001 3,745 89,485 So. Louisiana Sugars Coop......... 118,366 7,620 4,323 13,298 108,366 Sterling Sugars.................... 92,986 7,814 340 0 101,140

Total............................ 1,340,192 86,369 0 45,348 1,381,212 Texas
Rio Grande Valley.................. 161,625 12,746 ................ 3,956 178,326 Hawaii
Gay & Robinson, Inc................ 64,298 979 ................ 979 64,298 Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company 231,580 979 ................ 4,115 226,486

Total............................ 295,878 0 ................ 5,094 290,784 Puerto Rico
Agraso............................. 225 26 ................ 199 0 Roig............................... 0 26 ................ 26 0

Total............................ 225 0 ................ 225 0 [[Page 38004]]

Signed in Washington, DC on June 13, 2003.
James R. Little,
Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 0316140 Filed 62503; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 341005P

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT Barbara Fecso at (202) 720-4146.