According to Bloomberg and other foreign media outlets, Coca-Cola announced on the 22nd that it plans to launch a new cola product this fall made with U.S.-grown cane sugar. U.S. President Donald Trump, known for his love of cola, said on the 16th that he is in talks with Coca-Cola to switch the sweetener in its U.S. formula from corn syrup back to cane sugar, calling it a “better” option.
In a statement, Coca-Cola said the launch of this new product is intended to complement its strong core product lineup and offer more choices for different consumption occasions and taste preferences.
According to Reuters, U.S. food companies are seeking healthier alternatives in response to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) campaign. The report states that Kennedy and activists from the MAHA movement have been pushing for changes in the ingredients used by the food and beverage industry, targeting processed foods and artificial additives. Kennedy has said that both cane sugar and high-fructose corn syrup are unhealthy, but scientists say cane sugar has some nutritional advantages over high-fructose corn syrup.
But a harsh reality stands in the way: the domestic production of cane sugar in the U.S. is far from sufficient to support a full-scale transition by beverage giants. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the U.S. consumes about 12.5 million tons of sugar annually, but only around 4 million tons come from domestically refined cane sugar. The rest is supplied through imports and beet sugar.
“With the current refining capacity, the sugar industry can hardly meet Coca-Cola’s demand,” the report quoted commodity expert Kevin Ruffolo from research firm McKeany-Flavell as saying. About 80% of the cane sugar consumed annually in the U.S. is already locked into food manufacturing—for products like sauces and ice cream. Ongoing trade wars under Trump could further complicate efforts to close the supply gap. “Supplying the U.S. beverage industry would require a sharp increase in imports from countries like Brazil and Mexico—but the U.S. government is set to impose high tariffs on both starting next month.”
More troubling still, a full shift by Coca-Cola from high-fructose corn syrup to cane sugar could shrink corn demand. That could hit Iowa—the nation’s largest corn-producing state—especially hard, and put pressure on the broader U.S. corn industry.
Heather Jones, an analyst at financial research firm Jones Research, noted that it takes roughly 2.5 pounds of corn to produce one pound of high-fructose corn syrup. A major reduction in the use of corn syrup would weaken demand for grain, hurt corn growers, cost thousands of jobs in the food manufacturing sector, and cut farm income.
The latest U.S. data shows that about 400 million bushels of corn (1 bushel ≈ 35.2 liters) are used annually to produce corn syrup for beverages and other foods—about 2.5% of total U.S. corn output. The Corn Refiners Association has issued a dire warning: eliminating high-fructose corn syrup from the food and beverage supply could lower corn prices by as much as 34 cents per bushel, causing $5.1 billion in lost farm income.
Some observers also warn, “This move could erode Trump’s voter support in corn-growing states.” John Maxwell, a corn farmer in Iowa, told the media, “Switching to cane sugar would hit our profits directly.”
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