Feedstock Flexibility Program Will Not Purchase Sugar This Crop Year
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) has announced that it does not plan to purchase or sell sugar under the Feedstock Flexibility Program for crop year 2025, running from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026.
By law, the CCC provides quarterly estimates of sugar purchases and sales under the program based on crop and consumption forecasts. The Feedstock Flexibility Program was first authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill and later reauthorized by Congress in 2025 to help avoid sugar forfeitures.
The program allows USDA to buy surplus sugar if processors are likely to forfeit loans and then sell it to bioenergy producers. This process helps reduce excess sugar in the food market and supports sugar prices.
However, USDA’s March 10, 2026, World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report shows that ending sugar stocks for crop year 2025 are unlikely to lead to forfeitures. As a result, USDA does not currently expect to take action under the Feedstock Flexibility Program.
Sugar processors may still access loans from USDA at the start of the harvest. These loans have a maximum nine-month term. On maturity, processors can either repay the loan in full or surrender sugar to USDA to satisfy the loan.
USDA will continue to monitor sugar stocks, consumption, imports, and other market factors. The next quarterly estimate for the program will be released on or before July 1, 2026. This ongoing oversight ensures transparency and stability in the U.S. sugar market.
Photo Credit: usda