Sugar prices on Tuesday extended Monday’s rally, with NY sugar rising to a 1-month high and London sugar recording a 6-week high. Sugar rallied on Tuesday on support for Monday’s transition, when US sugar producers called for a reduction in sugar imports from Mexico.
The raw sugar contract due in May closed up 0.44 cents, or 2%, to 22.39 cents per pound, the highest level in three weeks. The white sugar contract due in May closed up 1.9%, to US$653.40 per ton.
The American Sugar Coalition has called on the US government to reduce the amount of sugar Mexico can send to the US by 44%, which would likely increase prices and require the US to buy sugar from other countries, taking advantage of already scarce supplies. global sugar industry.
ASR Group, the largest sugar company in the United States, told Reuters it has six to eight weeks of raw sugar inventories at its Baltimore sugar refinery, which is supplied by ships arriving at the Port of Baltimore. The port is blocked after a bridge collapsed.
Reduced sugar production in India also continues to be a driver for prices. The Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) reported last Monday that India’s sugar production in 2023/24, from October to March 15, fell 0.7% to 28.1 million tonnes.
The 2023 monsoon rainfall (June-September) was 6% below average, the worst monsoon rainfall in 5 years. In October, India extended restrictions on sugar exports from October 31 until further notice, in a bid to maintain adequate domestic supplies. India has allowed mills to export just 6.1 million tonnes of sugar during the 2022/23 season until September 30, after allowing exports of a record 11.1 million tonnes in the previous season. India is the second largest sugar producer in the world.
With information from Barchart and Reuters
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