Sugar mills in India 'miss bus' on imports, to buy raw locally
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
NEW DELHI, Sept. 15 (Bloomberg): Sugar mills in Maharashtra, India's biggest producer, will purchase raw sugar locally to cut delays involved in importing the commodity as a shortage of sugar cane threatens to lower output for a second year.
Mills may buy about 200,000 tonnes from traders, who have bought the commodity abroad, Prakash Naiknavare, managing director of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation Ltd., said. They've bought about 20,000 tonnes so far and are in talks for more, he said.
Sugar has doubled this year amid adverse weather in Brazil and India, the biggest producers, making imports expensive for the South Asian nation. Last week, ten-day volatility for raw- sugar futures traded in New York reached the highest in about a year, as prices fell since reaching a 28-year high on Sept. 1 and have started to recover again.
Raw-sugar futures for March delivery rose 0.83 cent, or 3.6 per cent, to 23.69 cents a pound in New York yesterday. The rally in 2009 has topped gains among members in the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials amid forecast by the International Sugar Organization that global demand will exceed output by 8.4 million tons in the year starting Oct. 1, following a deficit of 10.4 million tons this season.
Mills may buy about 200,000 tonnes from traders, who have bought the commodity abroad, Prakash Naiknavare, managing director of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation Ltd., said. They've bought about 20,000 tonnes so far and are in talks for more, he said.
Sugar has doubled this year amid adverse weather in Brazil and India, the biggest producers, making imports expensive for the South Asian nation. Last week, ten-day volatility for raw- sugar futures traded in New York reached the highest in about a year, as prices fell since reaching a 28-year high on Sept. 1 and have started to recover again.
Raw-sugar futures for March delivery rose 0.83 cent, or 3.6 per cent, to 23.69 cents a pound in New York yesterday. The rally in 2009 has topped gains among members in the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials amid forecast by the International Sugar Organization that global demand will exceed output by 8.4 million tons in the year starting Oct. 1, following a deficit of 10.4 million tons this season.