Daniel Akaka: “As I listen to all the evils attributed to the sugar program during today's debate on the McCain amendment, I hardly…”

“As I listen to all the evils attributed to the sugar program during today's debate on the McCain amendment, I hardly recognize the tiny white crystals that sweeten my cereal each morning. Sugar is an essential element of human nutrition. It's also one of the least expensive food items you will find in an American kitchen. When you go to a restaurant, there are only two things available at no charge and in unlimited quantity: water and sugar. Despite these achievements, sugar is being abused and maligned on the Senate floor. As I listen to the criticism of the sugar program, I think that some of my colleagues have lost sight of a basic fact that American consumers clearly understand: sugar is probably the best bargain you can find at the grocery store today. A pound of refined sugar costs 39 cents. American sugar farmers and the U.S. sugar program help make sugar affordable. Consumers elsewhere around the globe do not enjoy the low prices we have in America. If you visit a grocery store in other industrialized nations you will get 'sticker shock' when you pass the sugar display. In Tokyo, consumers pay nearly 90 cents for a pound of sugar, more than twice the U.S. price. In Europe, prices average 50 to 70 cents per pound. Obviously, sugar is no bargain in Europe and Japan. On average, the retail price for a pound of sugar is 54 cents in developed countries--38 percent more than the price in American supermarkets.”