[hedgetrimmer]

Brazil heavily subsidizes its sugar industry, from the exporter to the producers:

Roney said Brazil is the prime example of a developing-country sugar exporter that is trying to deflect attention away from its own sugar subsidies and on to those of several developed countries.

"Brazil has played an enormously greater role in depressing the world sugar price than any other country," Roney said. "Brazil's sugar exports have exploded from less than 2 million tons in the early 1990s to more than 16 million per year now, and its global market share from less than 4 percent to more than 36 percent. In so doing, Brazil pounded the world sugar market price from 14 cents per pound in the mid-1990s down to 6-7 cents now." Roney said, "Brazil could not have achieved this sugar expansion without its nearly 30 years of government subsidy of its sugarcane ethanol program, a variety of income and debt supports, dramatic currency devaluations, and low enforcement of labor and environmental standards. Similarly, Thailand has become the world's second leading exporter with the help of a number of direct and indirect government subsidies, debt relief, devaluations, and low standards."

[Toddsterpatriot]

In so doing, Brazil pounded the world sugar market price from 14 cents per pound in the mid-1990s down to 6-7 cents now.

So, Brazil spends a lot of money to drop the price of sugar? Now, explain why we should follow their stupid example and make our own people pay $0.25 per pound when we could take advantage of Brazil's 6-7 cent sugar?

Isn't a lower price better for our consumers?