By Karl Plume

CHICAGO (Reuters) -For years, sugar beets were a lifeline for American farmers. More than half of domestically produced sugar comes from the white-fleshed root crops, and robust demand from the world’s top sugar-consuming nation has shielded growers from more volatile crops like corn, soybeans and wheat.

But not this year. A dramatic drop in U.S. consumption and excess imports have ballooned stockpiles. Refined beet sugar prices are down 33% from a year ago, their lowest level since 2019, and a sugar supply glut is projected to last through at least 2026.

The culprit? Americans are simply eating less sugar. Consumption started to decline in the 1990s as artificial sweeteners grew in popularity. But that longterm trend collided with inflation, which has hit spending on swee

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