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Insight Focus
US sugar market activity remained quiet this week. The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines faced industry pushback and a PCRM petition citing industry influence on the report’s authors. USDA WASDE revisions raised 2025–26 sugar production and stocks, while crop conditions supported harvests and the corn sweetener market remained routine.
The cash sugar market was quiet this week. Sales for both 2026 and 2027 were slow, with many buyers still in price-discovery mode. Prices were unchanged.
Dietary Guidelines Draw Industry Pushback
Market participants continued to digest the January 7 release of the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Trade groups from various sectors of the food industry issued statements voicing a range of opinions, most adopting an opposing tone.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) filed a petition calling for the 2025–30 Dietary Guidelines for Americans to be withdrawn and reissued due to “rampant industry influence.”
In its filing, the PCRM noted that eight of the nine authors of the scientific report underlying the new Dietary Guidelines received research funding or other compensation from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the Texas Beef Council, General Mills, the National Dairy Council and the National Pork Board, among others.
In allowing this to occur, the PCRM said the USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services disregarded the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which mandates that the Dietary Guidelines “will not be inappropriately influenced by the appointing authority or any special interest.”
Market Reacts to WASDE Sugar Revisions
The sugar market also was reviewing the latest WASDE report, released by the USDA on January 12. The USDA raised its forecast of 2025–26 US sugar production from December, lowered imports (mostly high-tier), lowered exports and raised ending stocks, resulting in an ending stocks-to-use ratio of 15.75%, versus 15.24% in December and 19.9% in 2024–25.
Source: USDA
The department also slightly adjusted 2024–25 food deliveries to 12.5 million short tons (11.4 million tonnes), down 23,000 short tons from the December report. The forecast for the current year’s food deliveries was left unchanged at 12 million short tons, down 3.8% from the newly adjusted 2024–25 data and down 2.3% from 2023–24.
Source: USDA
The pace of food deliveries is expected to remain a key focus for the trade this year, as it was in 2025, especially as usage of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs is expected to increase and policy reforms around food assistance programs may impact consumer demand.
Sugar Crop Conditions Support Harvest
Aside from sales activity and digesting policy updates and federal reports, the market was tending to its sugar beet and sugar cane crops. After a period of unusually warm weather in recent weeks, long-term outlooks showed temperatures across the Red River Valley and other major sugar beet-growing areas returning to a more typical range for winter. Most of these areas may even experience below-normal temperatures, which would help sustain sugar beet piles stored outdoors.
Meanwhile, temperatures across southern growing regions are forecast to be above normal, benefiting sugar cane growers in Louisiana and Florida as they continue harvesting their crops.
Sugarcane fields, South Florida
The corn sweetener market was mostly routine, with refiners focused on producing and shipping product after wrapping up 2026 contracting at the end of 2025.
