BANGKOK, May 15 (Reuters): Thailand produced a record 11.3 million tonnes of sugar, benefitting from favourable weather, in the 2013/14 crushing season that ended on Thursday, the Office of Cane and Sugar Board (OCSB) said.
Although output from Asia has been blamed for a global surplus, the sugar market has already factored in Thailand's record crop.
Good weather late in 2013 helped boost the sugar content in cane and drove Thailand's output growth, said Somsak Suwattiga, secretary-general of the OCSB. The Southeast Asian nation produced 103.7 million tonnes of sugarcane in the 2013/14 season that started in the last week of November.
"We will allocate 2.5 million tonnes for domestic consumption and the rest of 8.8 million tonnes would be for export in 2014," Somsak told Reuters.
The OCSB also forecast initial sugarcane output in the 2014/15 crop at 102 million tonnes, or around 10.2 million tonnes of sugar, again on expected lines.
"We are a little bit conservative about the forecast of the next 2014/15 crop as we have to monitor closely how big the El Nino impact would be," Somsak said.
El Nino - a warming of sea temperatures in the Pacific - affects wind patterns and can trigger both floods and drought in different parts of the globe, curbing food supply. The phenomenon is expected to occur this year.
Somsak said he was optimistic strong demand in Asia would absorb the 8.8 million tonnes surplus targeted for exports.
However, traders said they expect to see strong competition this year as falling freight rates have opened the way for top sugar exporter Brazil to boost sales to major clients in Asia and the Middle East, which could lead to a price war.
Thai raw sugar was currently trading at a premium of 80 points over New York raw sugar futures prices, traders said.
Thailand produces record 11.3m tonnes of sugar in 2013/14 on weather boost
FE Team | Published: May 16, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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