seacoastonline.com - Shaheen: Sugar bill is sweet

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by Hattie Perkins

Politics got a little sweet on Valentine's Day when Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., visited Lindt & Sprungli USA's headquarters in Stratham to discuss a new bill that would address America's high sugar prices.

"We're paying more in the U.S. for sugar than the world market is," Shaheen said Monday "Bakeries, anybody who needs sugar, is affected by these high sugar prices, not to mention consumers, who are paying almost twice the world price."

Right now, approximately 85 percent of sugar is produced domestically from sugar cane and sugar beet farmers, subsidized by the government, and the remaining 15 percent comes from sugar-exporting countries, according to a U.S. Department of Commerce report.

According to Shaheen, the domestic companies are only allowed to produce a certain amount of sugar, driving up the price. Because of government limits and restrictions, sugar is now costing almost two times more in the United States than it is in other countries, the senator said, and with high prices comes less demand.

Companies that use sugar, such as bakers and candy makers, are having to cut back on production and jobs, Shaheen said.

Shaheen and Republican Mark Kirk of Illinois have introduced a bill called the Stop Unfair Giveaways and Restrictions Act, which would phase out the current federal sugar program, Shaheen said, and aims to create more jobs.

"For every one job that we save in the sugar industry through the subsidies, we're losing three manufacturing jobs," Shaheen said.

Shaheen toured the Lindt factory Monday and said she was impressed by the candy-making process. She said it was important to view how a candy manufacturing business works when introducing this new legislation.

"This is a good day to highlight how sugar is used in candy manufacturing, and the fact that the legislation that I've introduced with Republican Mark Kirk of Illinois is legislation that would address the high sugar prices that consumers and manufacturers like Lindt are paying," Shaheen said. "We can do it in a way that will phase out those subsidies and actually send money back to the U.S. Treasury to help address the deficit."

Lindt USA currently employs 350 people at the Stratham headquarters.

"To see the number of jobs here, and the number of jobs they are continuing to add each year is very beneficial to New Hampshire and to the Seacoast," Shaheen said.

Another expansion plan is in the works at the Lindt chocolate factory.

Representatives from Lindt & Sprungli USA talked informally with members of the Stratham Planning Board last month about consolidating the headquarters' offices into one corporate building. This may include tearing down a small retail building and constructing a 36,000-square-foot corporate office building.

Lindt representatives are still tweaking the plan's design and hope to present their proposal to the Planning Board sometime this spring.

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