Sugar production in Thailand to reachrecord on yield

BANGKOK, Apr 27 (Bloomberg): Sugar output in Thailand, the biggest exporter after Brazil, will exceed a forecast to reach a record after rainfall increased yields, boosting shipments to an all-time high, according to the Office of the Cane & Sugar Board. Production may climb to 9.47 million metric tons in the year started Nov. 28 and exports will surge to 6.67 million tons, Secretary-General Prasert Tapaneeyangkul said in a phone interview today. That compares with forecasts of 9.11 million tons of output and 6.3 million tons of exports he made on April 20. Last year production totaled 6.93 million tons and shipments were 4.63 million tons. Increased supplies from Thailand may pressure global prices that tumbled 36 per cent since reaching a three-decade high in February as output climbs in Brazil and India, the world's biggest producers. Sugar is the worst performer on the Standard & Poor's GSCI Spot Index of 24 commodities this year, helping cool global food prices that the United Nations estimates fell in March from a record. "The market didn't expect such a strong output from Thailand and this will be bearish for sugar prices," Abah Ofon, a commodities analyst at Standard Chartered Plc., said by phone from Singapore. Raw sugar for July delivery dropped 0.7 per cent to 23.24 cents a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York yesterday. The most-active contract climbed to 36.08 cents a pound on Feb. 2, the highest level since 1980. Sugar production totaled 9.1 million tons between Nov. 28 and April 25 and cane output was 88.4 million tons, according to data from the website of the Office of the Cane & Sugar Board. Yield is estimated at 102.9 kilograms per ton of cane, more than the 101 kilograms a year ago, Prasert said.