Thailand plans to grow more sugar

BANGKOK, Sept 1 (Reuters): Thailand plans to boost the amount of land it uses to grow sugarcane, potentially increasing refined sugar output in the world's second-biggest exporter of the sweetener by around 10 per cent, a government official said.

Increased Thai production would drag on benchmark global sugar prices, already struggling near seven-month lows as a supply glut floods markets.

The military government in the Southeast Asian nation wants to increase farmland dedicated to sugarcane by 128,000 hectares, said Somsak Suwattiga, secretary-general of the Office of Cane and Sugar Board (OCSB).