TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Dec. 3 -- Florida Crystals and a Florida growers' cooperative said the state's offer to buy 180,000 acres from U. S. Sugar Corp. gives the company an unfair advantage.
The company and the Florida Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida said they opposed the $1.34 billion deal, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Wednesday.
The deal "creates a taxpayer subsidized sugar company," Florida Crystals spokesperson Gaston Cantens said.
Florida agreeing to rent the land back to U. S. Sugar for seven years for $50 an acre, although rent for sugar cane fields can run as high as $325 an acre, the newspaper said.