Milling & Baking News - April 29, 2014 - 12

Business 

Commerce Department in inquiry
into sugar imports from Mexico
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Commerce said April 18 it
would initiate antidumping and countervailing duty investigations of sugar
imports from Mexico as petitioned by
the American Sugar Coalition, a group
of U.S. sugar producers, on March 28.
While confirmation of the investigation wasn't a surprise, it continued to
generate turmoil in the sugar and corn
sweetener markets, and supported
recently higher domestic sugar prices
because of uncertainty of supply from
Mexico.
The next key step in the process is
for the U.S. International Trade Commission to make its preliminary determination on or before May 12 of
whether imports of sugar from Mexico
caused material injury or threat of material injury to the domestic market.
If such a determination is made, the
D.O.C. then will make a preliminary
determination on the countervailing
duty portion of the investigation on or
before June 23, 2014, and on the antidumping portion on or before Sept. 4,
2014. Several other dates follow, with
final orders issued by Jan. 9, 2015,
should determinations from both
agencies be affirmative.
If the I.T.C. preliminary determination on May 12 is negative, the investigation will be terminated.
Included in the investigations are
imports of raw sugar, estandar or

standard sugar, refined sugar, brown
sugar, liquid sugar, organic raw sugar
and organic refined sugar, the D.O.C.
said. Not included are inedible molasses, specialty sugars and processed
food products that contain sugar, including beverages, cereals and candy.
In its petition, the American Sugar
Coalition claims imports of sugar
from Mexico will cost
U.S. sugar producers about $1 billion in
the current marketing year, which ends
Sept. 30.
According to the
D.O.C. and based on
U.S. Census Bureau
data, U.S. imports of
sugar from Mexico totaled 1,389,000 tonnes
valued at $1,202 million in 2011, 941,000
tonnes valued at $809 million in 2012
and 2,065,000 tonnes valued at $1,066
million in 2013.
U.S. imports of sugar from Mexico in the first six months (OctoberMarch) of the 2013-14 marketing year
totaled 1,043,973 tonnes, up 68% from
the same period a year earlier and the
most ever for the first half of any marketing year, according to Customs and
Census data.
"It is clear that the petitions have merit in the eyes of the U.S. government,"

Hillshire Brands to acquire
Van's Natural Foods
CHICAGO - The Hillshire Brands
Co. has entered into an agreement
to acquire Van's Natural Foods from
private equity firm Catterton Partners
for $165 million. If completed, the acquisition would broaden Hillshire's
portfolio of frozen food products
and extend the company's reach into
the cereal and snack categories.

12 / April 29, 2014 Milling & Baking News

"The Van's brand is a terrific addition to our portfolio," said Sean Connolly, president and chief executive officer of the Hillshire Brands Co. "Not
only does it expand our presence in
the frozen category, it also gives us
a proven health and wellness brand
with extendability beyond frozen."
The Van's product line features a
portfolio of gluten-free products, including chips, cereals, crackers, french
toast, pancakes, waffles and snack
bars. The company also sells french
toast, pancakes and waffles that are not
gluten-free.
Revenues for Van's Natural Foods
are expected to reach $60 million in
2014, according to Hillshire Brands.
The transaction is expected to close in
May 2014. MBN

said Phillip Hayes, a spokesman for the
American Sugar Alliance. "Considering
what's currently happening in the market, we are hopeful that corrective action
will be taken as soon as possible."
Representatives of the Sweetener
Users Association spoke in opposition
to the petition at an I.T.C. preliminary
conference on April 18.
"The Commerce Department's initiation of an investigation is routine and
expected, but does not mean that the
domestic industry's request for relief
has merit," the users
said. "As expressed
today by witnesses
who testified on behalf of S.U.A. before
the U.S.I.T.C. regarding the petition, any
actions to restrict
Mexican imports will
harm U.S. sugar-using companies that
depend on a consistent and reliable supply of sugar. In addition, imports from Mexico are not
responsible for reducing U.S. sugar
production or the market share of U.S.
sugar producers. The current market
situation is well within the parameters
of how the government-managed sugar market normally behaves.
"What is needed now is U.S. sugar
reform to fix a program the sugar lobby has engineered and is characterized
by tight government-imposed limits
on both imported and domestic sugar
supplies - distorting the market and
leading to severe fluctuations in supply and price."
Also highly critical of the petition
was John W. Bode, president and chief
executive officer of the Corn Refiners
Association.
"American Big Sugar is the sole
beneficiary of the only U.S. agriculture
program that has not been reformed
in modern times, a program that cost
taxpayers $259 million in subsidies
that went into 'Sugar's' pockets over
last year alone," Mr. Bode said. "In
these circumstances it is irresponsible
for them to assert that unfair foreign
competition has depressed U.S. sugar
prices at a time when imports declined
and domestic production surged."
While duty-free and quota-free
trade of sugar and high-fructose corn
syrup between the United States
and Mexico has occurred since Jan.
1, 2008, under the North American
Free Trade Agreement, filing of antidumping and countervailing duty
cases is permitted. MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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Milling & Baking News - April 29, 2014

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