Fall in international price of sugar may impact Indian export of sugar

Sugar prices have declined by nearly $50 per tonne in international markets for the first time in two months. Last week, world market prices of refined sugar were $423 per tonne, while crude sugar was trading at 17 cents per pound. On June 8, the price of refined sugar was $467 per tonne. The price of crude sugar then was 17.80 cents per pound. Sugar traders believe this could adversely affect the export prospects of Indian sugar. The sugar industry had predicted that global production of sugar would decline this year due to the drought in Brazil. Sugar prices in international markets have been rising for the past couple of months as the demand for ethanol was expected to increase and Brazil’s shift towards more ethanol will also have an impact on sugar production. The supply of sugar from Brazil to the world market was declining due to the stagnant growth of sugarcane owing to lack of rains. But in the first week of June, Brazil received an average of 15-20 mm of rain. This saved ...