Sugar Costs Retreat on Greater Sugar Output in Brazil

March NY world sugar #11 (SBH26) as we speak is down -0.13 (-0.90%), and December London ICE white sugar #5 (SWZ25) is down -4.60 (-1.10%).

Sugar costs have prolonged their three-week-long slide as we speak, with NY sugar posting a 5-year nearest-futures low and London sugar posting a 4.75-year low.

Greater sugar output in Brazil is undercutting costs as we speak after Unica reported that Brazil’s Middle-South sugar output within the first half of October rose by +1.3% y/y to 2.484 MT.  Additionally, the proportion of sugarcane crushed for sugar by Brazil’s sugar mills within the first half of October elevated to 48.24% from 47.33% the identical time final yr.  As well as, cumulative 2025-26 Middle-South sugar output by way of mid-October rose +0.9% y/y to 36.016 MMT.

Sugar costs have been beneath stress in latest weeks, primarily attributable to greater sugar output in Brazil and discuss of a worldwide sugar surplus.  Final Tuesday, Datagro projected that Brazil’s Middle-South 2026/27 sugar manufacturing will climb +3.9% y/y to a report 44 MMT.  In associated information, BMI Group on October 13 projected a worldwide 2025/26 sugar surplus of 10.5 MMT, and Covrig Analytics on October 7 projected a worldwide 2025/26 sugar surplus of 4.1 MMT.

The outlook for greater sugar exports from India is detrimental for sugar costs, as ample monsoon rains might produce a bumper sugar crop.  On September 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 June 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 may comply with a -17.5% y/y decline in India’s sugar manufacturing in 2024/25 to a 5-year low of 26.2 MMT, based on the Indian Sugar Mills Affiliation (ISMA).

One other bearish issue for sugar was the latest assertion from sugar dealer Sucden that India might divert solely 4 MMT of sugar to make ethanol in 2025/26, which isn’t sufficient to ease the nation’s sugar surplus and will immediate India’s sugar mills to export as a lot as 4 MMT of sugar, above earlier expectations of two MMT.  India is the world’s second-largest producer of sugar.

The outlook for greater sugar manufacturing in Thailand is bearish for costs.  The Thai Sugar Millers Corp on October 1 projected that Thailand’s 2025/26 sugar crop will improve by +5% y/y to 10.5 MMT.  On Could 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 Worldwide Sugar Group (ISO) forecasted a worldwide sugar deficit for the 2025/26 season on August 29, marking the sixth consecutive yr of deficits.  ISO tasks a worldwide 2025/26 sugar deficit of -231,000 MT, down from the -4.88 MMT shortfall in 2024/25.  ISO additionally tasks that 2025/26 international sugar manufacturing will rise by +3.3% y/y to 180.6 MMT, and 2025/26 international sugar consumption will improve by +0.3% y/y to 180.8 MMT.

The USDA, in its bi-annual report launched Could 22, projected that international 2025/26 sugar manufacturing would climb +4.7% y/y to a report 189.318 MMT and that international 2025/26 human sugar consumption would improve +1.4% y/y to a report 177.921 MMT.  The USDA additionally forecast that 2025/26 international 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 improve 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 improve by +2% y/y to 10.3 MMT.

On the date of publication, Wealthy Asplund didn’t have (both instantly or not directly) positions in any of the securities talked about on this article. All data and knowledge on this article is solely for informational functions. This text was initially revealed on Barchart.com