USDA announced an additional raw tariff-rate quota (TRQ) of 90,100 MT raw value (MTRV) for the current 2020/21 year. The move is not surprising, given recent reported lobbying by raw cane sugar processors and domestic sugar users—although it does come late in the season, with just six weeks remaining in the market year.
The raised volume does come with a one-month extension for 2020/21 TRQ imports, a repeat of a similar move made last season. TRQ imports will now be allowed for 2020/21 through Oct. 31 while still qualifying for the 2020/21 quota.
The 90,100 MTRV (99,318 STRV) volume would be an addition to the annual import minimum, per WTO commitments, of 1.117 million MTRV, raising the 2020/21 total TRQ to around 1.207 million MTRV.
Higher 2020/21 raw TRQ imports, particularly during October, would be presumed to help meet 2021/22 domestic sugar demand. To the extent that this is the case, this import volume would be expected to offset needs for sugar imports from Mexico. This will likely be reflected in the September WASDE as USDA balances U.S. stocks-to-use ratio at 13.5 percent. Per the U.S.-Mexico Suspension Agreements, the base export limit for sugar from Mexico is set at 70 percent of the forecast import needs in the September WASDE.
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