California and Hawaiian Sugar Company (C&H Sugar) is an American

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

processing and distribution company. Originally organized as a cooperative in 1921, it encountered a severe decline in sugar markets and passed through a series of owners in the latter half of the 20th century. In 2017, its

Crockett, California Crockett (formerly Crockettville) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay sub-region of the San Francisco Bay Area, California. The population w ...

, refinery processed its last shipment of Hawaiian sugar but continues to produce sugar from other locations. The Crockett Refinery employs more than 450 people and produces 14% of the nation's cane sugar.

History

The California and Hawaiian Sugar Company was founded in 1906 and operated from 1921 to 1993 as an

agricultural cooperative An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a producer cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activities. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural servic ...

marketing association owned by the member sugar companies in Hawaiʻi. Its headquarters are in Crockett under the Carquinez Bridge in unincorporated

Contra Costa County, California Contra Costa County (; ''Contra Costa'', Spanish for 'Opposite Coast') is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,165,927. Th ...

.Crockett CDP, California
."

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

. Retrieved on April 1, 2010. In 1993, the member companies sold their interests in C&H to

Alexander & Baldwin Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. is an American company that was once part of the Big Five companies in territorial Hawaii. The company currently operates businesses in real estate, land operations, and materials and construction. It was also the last ...

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, and the refining company's status changed from a cooperative to a stock corporation. Alexander & Baldwin subsequently sold its majority share to an investment group, Citicorp Venture Capital (CVC) in 1998, retaining a 40% common stock interest in the recapitalized company. American Sugar Refining bought C&H in 2006, merging it with its other sugar operations. C&H revenues and profits continued to decline into the 21st century as sugar prices fell and labor costs rose.

Products and market

The C&H brand is one of the leading sugar brands in the company's markets (where it is not the de facto leader), largely because its advertisements stress their exclusive use of

cane sugar Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...

, believed by some to be superior to sugar from the

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together with ...

. C&H sells a variety of cane sugar products, including white granulated, brown, baker's (superfine), powdered and organic. C&H's primary market is west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

in the United States, although some sugar is sold in various east coast stores. A number of restaurants, bakeries and hotels have C&H sugar shipped directly to them where it is not available through local distribution channels. More than 70 types, grades, and package sizes are sold within the two major groupings of grocery and industrial products. About of sugar per year are processed. The refinery at

, formerly relied on sugar cane from Hawaiʻi. However, the country's sugar cane production faced increasing competition from other cane producers in countries such as Brazil and Vietnam. In 2016, citing a loss of profitability, the last Hawaiian cane grower, the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company harvested its final Hawaiian sugar cane crop, and ceased refining operations there. Lands still owned by the company will be converted to other crops and uses, such as

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

and

biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricu ...

crops.

Notes

References

External links

C&H Pure Cane Sugar
* {{DEFAULTSORT:California And Hawaiian Sugar Company Sugar companies of the United States Sugar industry of Hawaii Agricultural cooperatives in the United States Business in Hawaii Companies based in Contra Costa County, California American companies established in 1906 Food and drink companies established in 1906 1906 establishments in California 1906 establishments in Hawaii Economy of the Western United States Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area Food and drink companies based in California Cooperatives based in California

History

Products and market

See also

Notes

References

External links