15 NOVEMBER 2005 - FRANKLIN, LA: Raw sugar in the warehouse at the St. Mary Sugar Co-Op Mill near Franklin, Louisiana during the 2005 sugar cane harvest. Sugar mills across Louisiana are being forced to warehouse tens of millions pounds of raw sugar because the sugar refineries in New Orleans are closed because of damage from Hurricane Katrina. The refineries are scheduled to reopen in late 2005. Louisiana is one of the leading sugar cane producing states in the US and the economy in southern Louisiana, especially St. Mary and Iberia Parishes, is built around the cultivation of sugar. The mill employs about 180 people. The two mills near Franklin contribute about $150 million (US) to the local economy. Sugar growers in the area are concerned that trade officials will eliminate sugar price supports during upcoming trade talks for the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). They say elimination of price supports will devastate sugar growers in the US and the local economies of sugar growing areas. They also say it will ultimately lead to higher sugar prices for US consumers.  PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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