File photoSugarMarket-RFP-020226INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Sugar beet growers face a range of problems, industry officials said here at the American Sugarbeet Growers Association meeting this week. While all commodity producers are facing economic problems, the sugar growers face a special set of circumstances, said Rob Johansson, director of economic and policy analysis for the American Sugar Alliance, a coalition of beet and cane growers. The sugar market is complicated, he said, with demand for liquid sugar becoming more important in the beverage market. Beet sugar produced in the Midwest is used by the many food companies around Chicago and other Midwestern cities. Markwart said the situation for beet sugar growers is so dire that attendance at the meeting was down 20% because some growers could not afford to attend.