The American Sugar Alliance foresees a major battle with food manufacturers when Congress takes up the Farm Bill again. The association, which represents sugar growers, expressed disappointment that the Farm Bill process must begin all over again after the clock ran out on 2012's efforts.

“As we did in 2012, we will face assaults from the food manufacturers, who would like to reduce or eliminate US sugar policy to enhance their access to subsidized world dump market sugar,” the trade group said on its website.

With sugar prices falling, the group says the gap between US and world sugar prices is “virtually non-existent.”