WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corporation on June 17 issued an invitation seeking offers to purchase 85,000 tonnes of U.S. raw cane or refined beet sugar in exchange for Refined Sugar Re-export Program credits. The invitation was part of additional U.S.D.A. actions announced to reduce the current domestic sugar surplus at the least cost to the U.S. government.

Quantities must be offered by June 24, and prices offered by July 1, following the C.C.C.’s catalog listing all offered quantities made available June 25. The C.C.C. will notify successful sellers by July 2.

Processors offering sugar for sale to the C.C.C. must have sugar pledged as collateral for a C.C.C. loan under the Sugar Loan Program, and the quantity accepted by the C.C.C. will not exceed the processor’s outstanding loan quantity.

“C.C.C.’s cost to purchase commodities may not equal or exceed costs associated with C.C.C. loan forfeitures,” the agency said. “Any offers to sell sugar to C.C.C. at a rate equal to or higher than C.C.C.’s expected costs associated with loan forfeitures will be rejected and receive no additional consideration.”

State and regional price offer caps range from $390.73 a tonne to $432.74 a tonne for raw cane sugar and from $518.14 a tonne to $568.58 a tonne for refined beet sugar, the U.S.D.A. said.