News: Abbotsford (Sugar Scarce Commodity - Aug 1945)

Transcriber: Robert Lipprandt
bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

----Source: The Tribune - Phonograph (Abbotsford, WI) 8/30/2017

Originally printed in the Abbotsford Tribune, Thursday, August 23, 1945

Sugar is expected to remain scarce commodity

Don’t look for more sugar this year.

A spokesman for the Agriculture Department gives this picture: Americans now receive about 73 pounds of sugar a year, each. It will remain like that - no - increase - way - past Christmas. Before the war, American got about 100 pounds yearly, each.

The situation isn’t likely to improve until the latter half of 1946 even though Army requirements are cut way down.

The Japanese let the Philippine sugar fields go to seed. They have to be re-established. Those islands were great producers.

France grew sugar. During the war its machinery deteriorated. It didn’t have labor.

Before the war Americans consumed about 6,800,000 tons of sugar yearly, on average.

Now, including the sugar taken by armed services, American consumption is 6,200,000. Of that the Army takes 1,100,000.

That leaves the civilians with 5,100,000 tons. As noted, they got 6,800,000 before the war. And the population is larger than it was four years ago.

The Army has been using about 280,000 to 300, 000 tons every three months.