Sugar Prices Consolidate This Week’s Gains

March NY world sugar #11 (SBH26) at the moment is down -0.01 (-0.07%), and March London ICE white sugar #5 (SWH26) is unchanged.

Sugar costs at the moment are little modified as they consolidate current beneficial properties.  On Wednesday, sugar costs rose to three.5-week highs on constructive carryover from Tuesday, when India’s meals ministry stated it was contemplating boosting the value of ethanol used for gasoline mixing, which might encourage India’s sugar mills to divert extra cane crushing towards ethanol manufacturing somewhat than sugar, thus lowering sugar provides.

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Sugar costs even have help from final Friday when India’s meals ministry stated that it’ll enable mills to export 1.5 MMT of sugar within the 2025/26 season, lower than earlier estimates of two MMT.  India launched a quota system for sugar exports in 2022/23 after late rain decreased manufacturing and restricted home provides.

On the bearish facet for sugar, the Worldwide Sugar Group (ISO) on Monday forecast a 1.625 million MT sugar surplus in 2025-26, following a 2.916 million MT deficit in 2024-25.  ISO stated the excess is being pushed by elevated sugar manufacturing in India, Thailand, and Pakistan.  In August, ISO had beforehand forecast a 231,000 MT deficit for the 2025-26 advertising 12 months.  ISO is forecasting a +3.2% y/y rise in world sugar manufacturing to 181.8 million MT in 2025-26.

The outlook for strong world sugar provides has hammered sugar costs over the previous month.  Final Thursday, London sugar posted a brand new 4.75-year nearest-futures low (SWZ25), and on Nov 6, NY sugar costs slumped to a 5-year nearest-futures low (SBH26), primarily as a consequence of greater sugar output in Brazil and discuss of a world sugar surplus.  Sugar dealer Czarnikow on Nov 5 boosted its world 2025/26 sugar surplus estimate to eight.7 MMT, up +1.2 MMT from a September estimate of seven.5 MMT.

The outlook for report sugar output in Brazil is bearish for costs.  Conab, Brazil’s crop forecasting company, on Nov 4 raised its Brazil 2025/26 sugar manufacturing estimate to 45 MMT from a earlier forecast of 44.5 MMT.  Unica lately reported that Brazil’s Heart-South sugar output within the second half of October rose by +16.4% y/y to 2.068 MT.  Additionally, the proportion of sugarcane crushed for sugar by Brazil’s sugar mills within the second half of October elevated to 46.02% from 45.91% the identical time final 12 months.  As well as, cumulative 2025-26 Heart-South sugar output via October rose +1.6% y/y to 38.085 MMT.

Indicators of a bigger sugar crop in India, the world’s second-largest producer, are undercutting costs after the India Sugar Mill Affiliation (ISMA) final Tuesday raised its 2025/26 India sugar manufacturing estimate to 31 MMT from an earlier forecast of 30 MMT, up +18.8% y/y.  The ISMA additionally reduce its estimate for sugar used for ethanol manufacturing in India to three.4 MMT from a July forecast of 5 MMT, which can enable India to spice up its sugar exports.

The outlook for greater sugar exports from India is damaging for sugar costs, as considerable monsoon rains might produce a bumper sugar crop.  On Sept 30, India’s Meteorological Division reported that cumulative monsoon rainfall as of that date was 937.2 mm, 8% above regular, marking the strongest monsoon in 5 years.  On Jun 2, India’s Nationwide Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories projected that India’s 2025/26 sugar manufacturing would climb +19% y/y to 34.9 MMT, citing bigger planted cane acreage.  That will comply with a -17.5% y/y decline in India’s sugar manufacturing in 2024/25 to a 5-year low of 26.1 MMT, based on the Indian Sugar Mills Affiliation (ISMA).  

The outlook for greater sugar manufacturing in Thailand is bearish for costs.  The Thai Sugar Millers Corp on Oct 1 projected that Thailand’s 2025/26 sugar crop will enhance by +5% y/y to 10.5 MMT.  On Might 2, Thailand’s Workplace of the Cane and Sugar Board reported that Thailand’s 2024/25 sugar manufacturing rose +14% y/y to 10.00 MMT.  Thailand is the world’s third-largest sugar producer and the second-largest exporter.

The USDA, in its bi-annual report launched Might 22, projected that world 2025/26 sugar manufacturing would climb +4.7% y/y to a report 189.318 MMT and that world 2025/26 human sugar consumption would enhance +1.4% y/y to a report 177.921 MMT.  The USDA additionally forecast that 2025/26 world sugar ending shares would climb by +7.5% y/y to 41.188 MMT.  The USDA’s Overseas Agricultural Service (FAS) predicted that Brazil’s 2025/26 sugar manufacturing would rise by 2.3% y/y to a report 44.7 MMT.  FAS additionally predicted that India’s 2025/26 sugar manufacturing would enhance by 25% y/y to 35.3 MMT, pushed by favorable monsoon rains and elevated sugar acreage.  As well as, FAS predicted that Thailand’s 2025/26 sugar manufacturing will enhance by +2% y/y to 10.3 MMT. 

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