In 2002, 79 percent of flue-cured tobacco was sold under
contract—a dramatic change from just 4 years earlier,
when virtually no tobacco production was contracted. A new
ERS report, Contracting
in Tobacco? Contracts Revisited (TBS-254-01), traces
this shift to Philip Morris—the largest buyer of U.S.
leaf—which indicated in a 1999 press release that tobacco
sold in auction markets did not satisfy its quality requirements,
necessitating a shift to contracting. Contracts typically
provide farmers with incentives for producing high-quality
output via higher prices. In 2001, contract prices for high-quality
tobacco exceeded auction market prices, and contract prices
for low-quality tobacco were less than auction market prices.
Carolyn Dimitri
Sugar Increasingly
Enters U.S. in Imported Products
Demand for U.S. and imported sugar by food manufacturers
has flattened since 1999, following robust growth over
most of the preceding decade. For the largest sector—bakery
and cereal manufacturing—sugar deliveries in 2002
are down 9 percent from 2001. Sugar consumption on a per
person basis has also stagnated, reflecting a slowdown
in the economy and changing dietary preferences and resulting
in increased industry competition. As detailed in a recent
ERS study, Measuring the Effect of Imports of Sugar-Containing
Products on U.S. Sugar Deliveries (SSS-237-01), additional
competition is coming from products that contain sugar.
The economic incentive to import products that contain
a high percentage of sugar can be enormous, as U.S. sugar
is far more expensive than sugar from sources outside the
United States. Sugar appears to be increasingly entering
the U.S. in manufactured products that are not subject
to tariff-rate quotas, such as items packaged for retail
sale. Steve Haley
Tracking Livestock
Shipments
Because shipping animals is often cheaper than shipping the
feed needed to raise them to slaughter weight, moving livestock
from growing areas to finishing areas results in a more efficient
use of feed and forage (grass or hay) supplies, which vary
in availability by region and season. Interstate
Livestock Movements (LPDM-10801) analyzes factors
influencing animal shipping patterns and provides web access
to over 300 maps illustrating State-to-State movements by
species, compiled from never-before-assembled veterinary certificates
issued by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service. Information on the volume and direction of livestock
movements has many uses. The effects of potential disease
outbreaks, for example, are highly dependent on livestock
movements. By better understanding such movements, potential
outbreaks can be contained regionally, perhaps minimizing
their economic impacts. Ken
Mathews
Low-Income
Households Spend Less on Food
Exploring Food Purchase Behavior of Low-Income Households:
How Do They Economize? (AIB-747-07), a comparison
of purchases by U.S. households of different income levels,
finds that low-income shoppers spend less on food purchases
despite facing generally higher purchase prices. Households
can economize on food spending by purchasing more discounted
products, favoring private-label products over brand
name products, pursuing volume discounts, or settling
for a less expensive product within a product class.
These economizing practices allow the poor to spend less
for food, despite the slightly higher prices that other
studies have shown they face, on average, when shopping
for food, while possibly choosing a less nutritious combination
of food products to consume. Ephraim
Leibtag
USDA Food
Assistance Programs in 2003: How Are We Doing?
Nearly 1 in 6 Americans is served by 1 or more of the 15
domestic food assistance programs administered by USDA at
some point during the year. These programs provide needy persons
with access to a more nutritious diet, provide opportunities
to improve the eating habits of the Nation’s children,
and help America’s farmers by creating an outlet for
the distribution of food purchased under farmer assistance
authorities. The Food
Assistance Landscape, September 2003 (FANRR-28-3)
summarizes trends in USDA food assistance programs through
the midpoint of fiscal year 2003, and discusses two recent
ERS studies on WIC cost containment practices and the USDA
Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program. Vic
Oliveira
Research
on Child Nutrition
A new ERS publication series, Food
Assistance Research Briefs (FANRR-34), highlights,
summarizes, and explains key findings from research
literature related to food assistance and child nutrition.
The research briefs are
topical and relevant to current debate on child nutrition, child obesity,
and the role of USDA child nutrition programs in addressing child health
issues. The initial 13 briefs provide analysis and information related
to costs, participation, eligibility, and other aspects USDA’s
food assistance programs. Each issue brief within the series provides
a succinct summary of ERS research on a policy- relevant topic, as well
as a short resource list identifying relevant ERS research publications,
web addresses, and subject matter specialists. Joanne
Guthrie
Analyzing
Fertilizer Trade
ERS has developed an interactive
database on fertilizer imports and exports, by fertilizer type, country, and year.
This unique data source is now available on the web for
the first time. Data on quantities of fertilizers exported
and quantities and values of fertilizers imported are currently
available for 1990-2002 and will be updated each year.
The data are compiled from U.S. Department of Commerce
Foreign Trade Statistics. Wen Huang
Commodity
Markets and Trade
ERS Outlook reports provide timely analysis of major commodity
markets and trade, including special reports on hot topics.
All reports are available electronically and can be found
at http//www.ers.usda.gov/publications/outlook
along with a calendar of future releases. Joy
Harwood
