Sugar prices to slide further?
08 March 1999
Sugar prices to slide further?
WORLD sugar prices are forecast to face further downward pressure this week because of Brazils falling currency and increasing production.
Raw sugar futures dropped to a 12-year low of less than 5.5¢ in New York last week, against 8.6¢/lb just two months ago.
Londons white sugar futures sank to their lowest point for 11 years at $202/t.
Global sugar production has outstripped consumption since 1994 with Brazil leading the way.
The countrys sugar production grew 17% last year to almost 19m tonnes, overtaking the European Union as the worlds largest producer.
Production would have normally been scaled back, but Brazilian sugar remains profitable even at current low prices, and farmers there are continuing to produce.