USDA data shows U.S. raw sugar prices dropped another nine-percent in October. The October 2012 average price is nearly 40-percent lower than the previous year. With sugar surpluses building and sustained low prices on the horizon – the American Sugar Alliance says industrial sugar users have lost a key talking point in their campaign to dismantle U.S. sugar production. ASA Chairman Ryan Weston says the big candy lobby has complained of high sugar prices on Capitol Hill for months despite their own increasing profits. He says lawmakers should be less receptive to their efforts now that they have big profits, cheap sugar and a rosy outlook for the future.

ASA notes raw sugar prices dipped as low as 21.5-cents per pound during October. Cheap sugar is predicted for the foreseeable future due to the 2.2-million tons of surplus overhanging the market, a strong domestic crop and the subsidized foreign sugar that flows in under a myriad of trade deals.

Weston says the price reality for sugar proves how well the current sugar policy has worked for consumers. He says the policy comes at no cost to the taxpayer, helps counter subsidies by foreign competitors and ensures consistent homegrown supplies at consistent prices. But Weston notes food makers aren’t passing along any of the lower sugar prices to consumers. Instead – he says they have continued price increases at the grocery checkout line. Weston says this lack of pass-through should further call into question the talking points used by opponents of sugar policy.