Sugar prices retreated to their lows on Monday amid improving global supplies. Brazil’s center-south sugar production rose 35% in the second half of November when compared with a year earlier, totaling 1.4 million metric tons, data from industry group UNICA showed on Tuesday, Nasdaq reported.
Brazil has ramped up its sugar production, sugar prices have tumbled
UNICA said in a report that 23.9 million tons of sugarcane were crushed in the period, up 46% from a year ago. Total ethanol production rose 39.9% to 1.25 billion liters.
Mills in Brazil’s main sugarcane belt are now starting to conclude crushing for this season. According to UNICA, 78 units have finished processing so far, down from 178 at the same time last year when bad weather affected the crop.
Last week, India’s food ministry directed local sugar mills to stop using sugar cane juice and syrup to produce ethanol in the 2023/24 supply year to boost sugar reserves. Green Pool Commodity Specialists said this could add 2 MMT of sugar to India’s domestic supplies