THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. This notice is for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. Vendors that believe they can provide the services listed above are invited to submit substantiating documentation in writing to the identified point of contact. This procurement will be processed pursuant to FAR part 12 and Part 13.5. No solicitation will be issued. Information received will be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. A determination by the Government to compete this proposed contract based on responses to this notice is solely at the discretion of the Government. Responses are to be received within 10 days of this notice. No telephone calls are being accepted. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Economic Research Service (ERS), intends to negotiate and award on a Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) basis. A purchase order will be one base year (plus four option years) awarded to LMC International Ltd. of New York, NY for electronic access to the LMC Sugar Cost of production, LMC Sweetener Analysis, LMC Sugar & Sweetener Quarterly, LMC Sugar Bulletin, and LMC Ethanol Market Service. Anticipated Date of the firm-fixed price Award is 4/1/2018. ERS is charged with analysis of factors underlying domestic and world supply, demand, and trade for sugar, alternative sweeteners, and ethanol. The LMC International Costs of Product ion database details estimates for 61 cane sugar producing countries, 35 beet sugar producing countries, and high fructose syrup producing countries. ERS analysts use the cost of production data to understand world sugar price trends and their effect on the U.S. sugar and sweetener market and consequent implications for U.S. Government sugar policy decisions. Many special research articles using these data have been published by ERS and are in work plans for additional research output. Detailed U.S. and Mexican regional cost estimates are included in the LMC International Cost-of-Production dataset. Production cost data for all three sweeteners (cane, beet, and fructose syrup) are a core part of modeling supply adjustments in USDA's long-term sugar supply and demand projections model. The LMC data allows a disaggregated analysis and modeling of four U.S. cane sugar producing areas, six U.S. beet sugar producing areas and six sugar regions in Mexico. Modeling equations have been developed for all regions and allow the influence offering fertilizer, energy, and alternative crop prices to be included in the modeling. The baseline model is the core tool for projecting the costs of the U.S. sugar program in the President's budget. Without the LMC Cost-of-Production data, baseline and scenario analysis would be seriously degraded. The LMC International Sugar and Sweeteners Market Report, Sugar Bulletin, and Sweeteners Analysis provide analysis and market commentary on North American and global sugar markets. LMC reports provide useful insight on market developments in sugar markets and a unique perspective on shorter-term price movements that are of interest to traders and commercial sweetener interests. This group is also a core readership for ERS products. The LMC International Ethanol Service provides data for Brazil that is hard to gather. All ethanol data and analyses are depended upon by a wide set of researchers and analysts in ERS's Market and Trade Economic Division (MTED).