Posted: 08.17.2010

Just a little side note to consider today as you make your way to that vending machine.

The American Sugar Association says the average cost of a candy bar has gone up 99 cents in a year and are now peaking at about $1.09.  Why?  Don't blame the sugar farmers!

The American Sugar Association says farmers are usually the scapegoats when prices go up - but the math just doesn't work out.  If it were all about the sugar - then you'd see other foods like jello, cake mixes and ice cream going up - but they haven't.

Instead, a new survey shows that Americans crave candy in a stressful situation - so as unemployment rises and 401K shares go down - candy bar consumption goes up.

If their profits are up, it seems strange that large candy companies are lobbying Congress to weaken the farm safety net in hopes of sending sugar prices lower and corporate profits soaring. But that's exactly what is going on.

And the rush for candy bars has been a windfall of profits for confectioners.

The American Sugar Association cautions against believing food manufacturer claims that rock-bottom-priced sugar would mean lower grocery bills for shoppers.

There's only two-cents worth of sugar in that $1.09 candy bar, which means sugar accounts for less than 2 percent of the product price.

"If we gave candy makers sugar for free and they decided to break tradition by passing every penny of savings along to shoppers instead of improving their own profits, that $1.09 candy bar would still cost $1.07 or more," said Pete Dufresne, a sugarcane farmer from Paulina, Louisiana. "That's hardly an economic stimulator."

As for the argument that sugar is too expensive, Dufresne simply pointed out, "Sugar remains so inexpensive that you can literally walk into any restaurant in the country and use as many sugar packets as you want for free."

Just thought you'd like to know.

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