Trump’s Bid To Put the Sugar Back in Coca-Cola Dismays Corn Growers

President Trump’s bid to put cane sugar back into America’s most popular soft drink could put him at odds with Midwest farmers and drive up the cost, analysts say.Mr. Trump, whose Diet Coke-loving habits have been widely reported, raised the issue this week with a posting on his Truth Social network.“I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so,” the president, who personally favors the sugar-free version of the beverage, wrote.“I’d like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!”Despite the posting, the company is not confirming plans to begin replacing its current sweetener, high-fructose corn syrup, with costlier cane sugar.Sugar is America’s largest imported agricultural commodity subject to a quota and costs almost twice as much in this country as anywhere else in the world, according to the industry group Sweetener Users Association.High fructose corn syrup is cheaper, due in part to subsidies to corn growers, and has replaced sugar in soft drinks in this country since the 1980s. The federal government handed corn producers $3.2 billion last year, accounting for 30 percent of all farm subsidies, USA Facts reports.The Corn Refiners Association claims replacing high fructose corn syrup in drinks could be a disaster for domestic farmers.“Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar doesn’t make sense,” the association’s CEO, John Bode, says.“President Trump stands for American manufacturing jobs, American farmers, and reducing the trade deficit. Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar would cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs, depress farm income, and boost imports of foreign sugar, all with no nutritional benefit.”The United States is the largest producer, consumer, and exporter of corn in the world, with American farmers planting about 90 million acres of corn a year, according to the Department of Agriculture.Coca-Cola uses cane sugar in other countries and the Mexican version is imported to America, but that version is more expensive than the domestic product.A spokesman for the company declined an interview request from The New York Sun but says, “We appreciate President Trump’s enthusiasm for our iconic Coca‑Cola brand. More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca‑Cola product range will be shared soon.”While Coca-Cola is not saying much, the head of PepsiCo — which produces the main rival soft drink, Pepsi — says government policy needs to change to make sugar a reality again for soft drinks.PepsiCo’s CEO, Ramon Laguarta, says the company already sells a version of Pepsi in America that uses cane sugar as its primary sweetener but it is costlier to produce.“There is an opportunity for sugar cane, some consumers like it,” Mr. Laguarta says in a Thursday CNBC interview. “Cane sugar is more expensive in the U.S. than in many parts of the world so I think there is a conversation with the government, probably, on ‘How do we make sugar affordable in the U.S.?’”He says the entire industry could transition back to using cane sugar if the country’s farm policy changes to reduce the cost of sugar.

Trump’s Bid To Put the Sugar Back in Coca-Cola Dismays Corn Growers

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