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HOUSE BILL URGES PHASEOUT OF SUGAR PRICE SUPPORTS

WASHINGTON (FNS) -- A bill backed by the supermarket industry that would phase out sugar price supports, and could potentially lower the price of products that include sugar, was introduced in the House of Representatives., which costs about $1.4 billion annually, insulates U.S. sugar producers from the world market, where prices are about 15 cents per pound. The program restricts imports and requires

WASHINGTON (FNS) -- A bill backed by the supermarket industry that would phase out sugar price supports, and could potentially lower the price of products that include sugar, was introduced in the House of Representatives.

, which costs about $1.4 billion annually, insulates U.S. sugar producers from the world market, where prices are about 15 cents per pound. The program restricts imports and requires a price cushion for U.S. producers, currently set at 22 cents per pound.

The bill would gradually reduce the sugar loan rate to 14 cents a pound by 2003. The loan program, which has cost the government $15 billion over the past decade, would end in 2003.