Alum is a salt that in chemistry is a combination of an alkali metal, such as sodium, potassium, or ammonium and a trivalent metal, such as aluminum, iron, or chromium.
USDA allocates a share of the anticipated U.S. sugar market to sugar producers annually. This allotment basically determines the amount of sugar an individual company is allowed to sell that year. However, these allotments can be, and often are, adjusted based on harvest conditions.
Powerful US sugar lobby stands between Australian cane growers and a sweet trade deal. Photo: The powerful US sugar lobby has fought successfully to maintain subsidies and tariff protections for farmers for more than 200 years. It's the kind of political power Australian agricultural industries can only dream of.