USDA 2008 raw sugar import quotas released

USDA 2008 raw sugar import quotas released The Philippines, Dominican Republic, and Brazil have grabbed the lion share of raw sugar quota allotments that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will allow into the country next year.
   Earlier this month the USDA announced the sugar program provisions for fiscal year 2008'Oct. 1, 2007 through Sept. 30, 2008, and said the 2008 quota for raw cane sugar would amount to just over 1.1 million metric tons. The United States maintains a tariff-rate quota for imports of raw cane sugar and refined sugar. The country also maintains a quota for imports of sugar-containing products.
   Published on Friday, the Federal Register listed the recipients of the quota allocations and how the sugar quota broke down on a per country basis. The amounts granted are determined by the traditional importing patterns of the exporting countries. The Dominican Republic picked up the top slot, with 185,335 metric tons being allowed to the island nation. Brazil garnered the second largest amount with 152,691 metric tons and the Philippines rounded out the top three at 142,160 metric tons.
   Others in the top of the list include Australia, Guatemala, Argentina, and Peru, each with between 40,000 and 90,000 metric tons.
   The USDA also set the 2008 refined sugar quota at 85,503 metric tons. Of this amount, 10,300 metric tons are allocated to Canada, 2,954 metric tons for Mexico, and the remaining 7,090 metric tons distributed on a first-come-first-serve basis. An additional 63,503 metric tons of allotments held by the administration for specialty sugar imports will also be provided on a first-come-first-serve basis.
   The first allotment will be ready for use in late-October, with the second and third rounds coming in November and January, the USDA said.