POWELL, Wyo.—The headlines vary widely.
On one hand, the 2016 sugarbeet crop in the Lovell factory district of Western Sugar Cooperative is on track to post another strong showing. Officials look for a yield averaging 28.9 tons to the acre, with sugar content of 17.5 percent.
Those are positive numbers, reflective of a pretty good growing season.
At the same time, the sugarbeet industry is looking at prices at 30-year lows. And when the net selling price of sugar largely determines what growers are paid, that’s a sobering reality.
“It’s not great; it’s not a rosy picture just because of prices,” admits Ric Rodriguez of Powell, vice chairman of the Western Sugar Cooperative board of directors. “Other commodities are all down, but not at the grocery store. Somebody’s making some money.”
Still, Rodriguez finds a silver lining in the clouds—both companywide and for the grower base.
The price of sugar is off at the moment, but there is improvement on the horizon, he said.
“There are some production problems worldwide. According to the economists, there is going to be a little shortage of sugar worldwide, and that will mean higher sugar prices in a few years,” he said. “I’m just an optimist. You have to be.”
And so it becomes something of a waiting game, nothing new in the commodity business.
Source: www.powelltribune.com