LUBBOCK, TX – U.S. sugar growers face continued pressure from heavily managed foreign markets, according to a Texas Tech University review of global sugar subsidies and trade policies. The analysis found government intervention remains widespread across major producing, consuming and exporting countries.
The report covers 29 countries representing 86.2% of global sugar production and 87% of exports. Researchers reviewed World Trade Organization tariff data, USDA trade and production figures, and Foreign Agricultural Service reports.
Import tariffs and quotas were the most common protections, while many countries also use price supports, input subsidies, export controls and ethanol mandates. India’s average applied sugar tariff was 55.7%, Thailand’s 41%, China’s 28.7% and Mexico’s 28.1%.
The report also cites WTO analysis showing India’s sugarcane market-price support reached $17.6 billion in 2021-22, equal to 99.1% of the crop’s production value. Researchers say China and India have provided some of the largest sugar-specific transfers in recent years.
The Texas Tech research was funded by the American Sugar Alliance, which represents U.S. sugar producers and processors.