IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/agfoec/v8y2020i1d10.1186_s40100-020-00161-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of US sugar prices on the financial performance of US sugar-using firms

Author

Listed:
  • Carlos J. O. Trejo-Pech

    (University of Tennessee)

  • Karen L. DeLong

    (University of Tennessee)

  • Dayton M. Lambert

    (Oklahoma State University)

  • Vasileios Siokos

    (University of Tennessee)

Abstract

The effect of the United States (US) sugar program on sugar-using firm profitability from 2000 to 2017 is examined using firm financial data and the relative US-to-world sugar price ratio. Return on assets and market-to-book ratio proxy for firm financial performance. The regression results provide statistical evidence that as the US sugar price increases relative to the world sugar price, sugar-using firm financial performance improves. This is likely a result of sugar-using firms passing higher sugar costs on to consumers. An ex post analysis indicates that the statistical tests have adequate power. Findings provide guidelines for future analyses investigating the relationship between the US sugar program and sugar-using firm financial performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlos J. O. Trejo-Pech & Karen L. DeLong & Dayton M. Lambert & Vasileios Siokos, 2020. "The impact of US sugar prices on the financial performance of US sugar-using firms," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-17, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agfoec:v:8:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1186_s40100-020-00161-5
    DOI: 10.1186/s40100-020-00161-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s40100-020-00161-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1186/s40100-020-00161-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Datta, Sudip & Iskandar-Datta, Mai & Sharma, Vivek, 2011. "Product market pricing power, industry concentration and analysts' earnings forecasts," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 1352-1366, June.
    2. Carosi, Andrea, 2016. "Do local causations matter? The effect of firm location on the relations of ROE, R&D, and firm SIZE with MARKET-TO-BOOK," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 388-409.
    3. Adelina Gschwandtner & Stefan Hirsch, 2018. "What Drives Firm Profitability? A Comparison of the US and EU Food Processing Industry," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 86(3), pages 390-416, June.
    4. Amani Elobeid & John Beghin, 2006. "Multilateral Trade and Agricultural Policy Reforms in Sugar Markets," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(1), pages 23-48, March.
    5. Jason P Brown & Dayton M Lambert & Timothy R Wojan, 2019. "The Effect of the Conservation Reserve Program on Rural Economies: Deriving a Statistical Verdict from a Null Finding," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 101(2), pages 528-540.
    6. Troy G. Schmitz, 2018. "Impact of the 2014 Suspension Agreement on sugar between the United States and Mexico," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(1), pages 55-69, January.
    7. Stefan Hirsch & Adelina Gschwandtner, 2013. "Profit persistence in the food industry: evidence from five European countries," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 40(5), pages 741-759, December.
    8. David Abler & John C. Beghin & David Blandford & Amani Elobeid, 2008. "Changing the U.S. Sugar Program into a Standard Crop Program: Consequences under the North American Free Trade Agreement and Doha," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 30(1), pages 82-102.
    9. Trejo-Pech, Carlos O. & Gunderson, Michael A. & Baker, Timothy G. & Gray, Allan W. & Boehlje, Michael D., 2015. "Assessing Cash Holdings in Agribusiness," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 18(4), pages 1-20, November.
    10. White, Halbert, 1980. "A Heteroskedasticity-Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator and a Direct Test for Heteroskedasticity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(4), pages 817-838, May.
    11. Schmitz, Troy G. & Lewis, Karen E., 2015. "Impact of NAFTA on U.S. and Mexican Sugar Markets," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 40(3), pages 1-18, September.
    12. Michael A. Boland, 2005. "The Persistence of Profitability among Firms in the Food Economy," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 87(1), pages 103-115.
    13. Abler, David & Beghin, John C. & Blandford, David & Elobeid, Amani, 2008. "Changing the U.S. Sugar Program into a Standard Crop Program: Consequences Under NAFTA and Doha," Staff General Research Papers Archive 12764, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    14. Freeman, Rn & Ohlson, Ja & Penman, Sh, 1982. "Book Rate-Of-Return And Prediction Of Earnings Changes - An Empirical-Investigation," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 639-653.
    15. Richard P. Rumelt, 1991. "How much does industry matter?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(3), pages 167-185, March.
    16. Hovakimian, Armen & Opler, Tim & Titman, Sheridan, 2001. "The Debt-Equity Choice," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 36(1), pages 1-24, March.
    17. Carlos Omar Trejo‐Pech & Richard N. Weldon & Lisa A. House, 2008. "Earnings, accruals, cash flows, and EBITDA for agribusiness firms," Agricultural Finance Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 68(2), pages 301-319, November.
    18. Ani L. Katchova & Sierra J. Enlow, 2013. "Financial performance of publicly‐traded agribusinesses," Agricultural Finance Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 73(1), pages 58-73, May.
    19. Jarrad Harford & Sattar A. Mansi & William F. Maxwell, 2012. "Corporate Governance and Firm Cash Holdings in the U.S," Springer Books, in: Sabri Boubaker & Bang Dang Nguyen & Duc Khuong Nguyen (ed.), Corporate Governance, edition 127, pages 107-138, Springer.
    20. John Goddard & Manouche Tavakoli & John Wilson, 2005. "Determinants of profitability in European manufacturing and services: evidence from a dynamic panel model," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(18), pages 1269-1282.
    21. Knutson, Ronald D. & Westhoff, Patrick C. & Sherwell, Pablo, 2010. "Trade Liberalizing Impacts of NAFTA in Sugar: Global Implications," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 13(4), pages 1-16.
    22. Carlos J.O. Trejo-Pech & Richard N. Weldon & Michael A. Gunderson, 2016. "Earnings Management through Specific Accruals and Discretionary Expenses: Evidence from U.S. Agribusiness Firms," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 64(1), pages 89-118, March.
    23. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 1995. "Size and Book-to-Market Factors in Earnings and Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(1), pages 131-155, March.
    24. McConnell, Michael, 2016. "Sugar Outlook," Agricultural Outlook Forum 2016 236606, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Outlook Forum.
    25. Fabio R. Chaddad & Mario P. Mondelli, 2013. "Sources of Firm Performance Differences in the US Food Economy," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(2), pages 382-404, June.
    26. Timothy R. Wojan & Jason P. Brown & Dayton M. Lambert, 2014. "What to Do about the "Cult of Statistical Significance"? A Renewable Fuel Application using the Neyman-Pearson Protocol," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 36(4), pages 674-695.
    27. Stefan Hirsch & Jan Schiefer & Adelina Gschwandtner & Monika Hartmann, 2014. "The Determinants of Firm Profitability Differences in EU Food Processing," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(3), pages 703-721, September.
    28. Jarrad Harford, 1999. "Corporate Cash Reserves and Acquisitions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(6), pages 1969-1997, December.
    29. John Adams & Darren Hayunga & Sattar Mansi & David Reeb & Vincenzo Verardi, 2019. "Identifying and treating outliers in finance," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 48(2), pages 345-384, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Carlos J. O. Trejo‐Pech & Michael A. Gunderson & Dayton M. Lambert, 2021. "Mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. agribusiness sector, 1990–2017," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(4), pages 713-730, October.
    2. Stefan Hirsch, 2018. "Successful In The Long Run: A Meta†Regression Analysis Of Persistent Firm Profits," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 23-49, February.
    3. Adelina Gschwandtner & Stefan Hirsch, 2018. "What Drives Firm Profitability? A Comparison of the US and EU Food Processing Industry," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 86(3), pages 390-416, June.
    4. Adrián Rabadán & Ángela González-Moreno & Francisco J. Sáez-Martínez, 2019. "Improving Firms’ Performance and Sustainability: The Case of Eco-Innovation in the Agri-Food Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-16, October.
    5. Silvia Andr?s Gonz?lez-Moralejo & Mildrey Garc?a Cort?s & Juan Francisco L?pez Miquel, 2021. "Are small and medium-size food industry firms profitable? Explaining differences in their performance: The case of the Valencia Region," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 23(1), pages 1-24.
    6. Stefan Hirsch & David Lanter & Robert Finger, 2021. "Profitability and profit persistence in EU food retailing: Differences between top competitors and fringe firms," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(2), pages 235-263, April.
    7. Stefan Hirsch & Jan Schiefer, 2016. "What Causes Firm Profitability Variation in the EU Food Industry? A Redux of Classical Approaches of Variance Decomposition," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(1), pages 79-92, January.
    8. Zouaghi, Ferdaous & Hirsch, Stefan & Garcia, Mercedes Sanchez, 2016. "What Drives Firm Profitability? A Multilevel Approach To The Spanish Agri-Food Sector," 56th Annual Conference, Bonn, Germany, September 28-30, 2016 244762, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    9. Andrés González-Moralejo, Silvia & García Cortés, Mildrey & López Miquel, Juan Francisco, 2021. "Are small and medium-size food industry firms profitable? Explaining differences in their performance: The case of the Valencia Region," Economia agro-alimentare / Food Economy, Italian Society of Agri-food Economics/Società Italiana di Economia Agro-Alimentare (SIEA), vol. 23(1), May.
    10. Stefan Hirsch & Monika Hartmann, 2014. "Persistence of firm-level profitability in the European dairy processing industry," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 45(S1), pages 53-63, November.
    11. Schmitz, Troy G. & Lewis, Karen E., 2015. "Impact of NAFTA on U.S. and Mexican Sugar Markets," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 40(3), pages 1-18, September.
    12. Leiv Opstad & Johannes Idso & Robin Valenta, 2021. "The Degree of Profit Persistence in the Tourism Industry: The Case of Norwegian Campsites," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(4), pages 140-155.
    13. Troy G. Schmitz, 2018. "Impact of the 2014 Suspension Agreement on sugar between the United States and Mexico," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(1), pages 55-69, January.
    14. Palash Deb & Parthiban David & Jonathan O'Brien, 2017. "When is cash good or bad for firm performance?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 436-454, February.
    15. Dissanaike, Gishan & Faasse, Jonathan & Jayasekera, Ranadeva, 2014. "What do equity issuances signal? A study of equity issuances in the UK before and during the financial crisis," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(PB), pages 358-385.
    16. John C. Beghin & Amani Elobeid, 2015. "The Impact of the U.S. Sugar Program Redux," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 37(1), pages 1-33.
    17. Kallunki, Juha-Pekka & Martikainen, Minna & Martikainen, Teppo, 1998. "Accounting income, income components and market-to-book equity ratios: Finnish evidence," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 359-375.
    18. Boubaker, Sabri & Derouiche, Imen & Lasfer, Meziane, 2015. "Geographic location, excess control rights, and cash holdings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 24-37.
    19. D'Mello, Ranjan & Miranda, Mercedes, 2010. "Long-term debt and overinvestment agency problem," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 324-335, February.
    20. Lin Gan & Takahashi Yoshifumi & Nomura Hisako & Yabe Mitsuyasu, 2024. "The short‐ and long‐term impacts of overinvestments on the profitability of agri‐food processing firms in China," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(1), pages 227-247, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agribusiness finance; Sugar-using firms; US sugar program; Power of test;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • M2 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:agfoec:v:8:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1186_s40100-020-00161-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.