Ethanol plan sweet deal for sugar growers

Government may buy sugar to produce ethanol

Washington, D.C. – Americans may soon be running their cars on sugar, not just corn.

A provision in the House farm bill would require the government to buy surplus sugar and sell it to ethanol producers for conversion into fuel alcohol.

Distillers of rum have long used sugar to make alcohol, of course. And Brazil makes its fuel ethanol from sugar cane.

Sugar-based fuel alcohol has not been economical in the United States because of the government’s policy of keeping domestic sugar prices far above the world market price.

That could change.

Starting next year, Mexico will be allowed, under the North American Free Trade Agreement, to start exporting unlimited quantities of its sugar to the United States.

Des Moines Register