Sugar prices Tuesday posted moderate gains on concern Thailand might soon limit sugar exports. Thailand’s deputy commerce minister said the country would categorize sugar as a controlled commodity in an attempt to control inflation and maintain food security, which would require a regulating panel to approve Thailand’s sugar exports of a ton or more, reports Nasdaq according to Barchart. Thailand is the world’s third-largest sugar producer and the world’s second-biggest sugar exporter.
Gains in sugar on Tuesday were limited by weakness in crude prices. Crude oil on Tuesday (CLZ23) fell to a 2-month low, which weighed on ethanol prices and may prompt the world’s sugar mills to divert more cane crushing toward sugar production rather than ethanol, thus boosting sugar supplies.
Another negative factor for sugar prices was last Wednesday’s report from Unca that showed Brazil Center-South sugar output in the first half of October rose +22% y/y to 2.247 MMT and that sugar output in the 2023/24 crop year through mid-October rose +23.6% y/y to 34.862 MMT. Also, 49.44% of the crushed sugarcane was used for sugar production this year, an increase from 45.63% last year.
