Analyzing agribusiness competitiveness: The case of the United States sugar industry

The U.S. sugar industry has historically been insulated from volatilities in the world sugar market through the use of an import quota. Recent occurrences in the international agricultural policy arena have brought the need to examine the competitiveness of the United States sugar industry to the fore. Developments with respect to international agricultural policies, combined with a restructuring of United States domestic agricultural policy will undoubtedly reshape the environment in which the U.S. Sugar industry operates. This paper seeks to answer how the various regions and sectors will be able to compete in the world market. This paper starts by outlining an analytical framework to examine the impact of various sources that influence competitiveness in the sugar industry and identify several indicators of competitiveness.