India set to overtake Brazil as World’s top sugar producer

For the first time in 16 years, India is set to overtake Brazil as the world’s leading sugar producer. The US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service in a report on 20 November said that the production in the Asian country this season could increase 5.2 percent to a record 35.9 million ton due to rising acreage and improving yields. On the other hand, Brazil’s production might drop 21 percent to 30.6 million tonnes because of adverse climate and a shift to producing more cane-based ethanol.

Meanwhile, the global production is predicted to drop 4.5 percent to 185.9 million tonnes, following the May estimation of 188.3 million, after the outlooks for Brazil, Thailand and the European Union (EU) were revised lower.

Brazil is likely to remain the top sugar exporter, followed by Thailand. The marketing season in the South American nation runs from April to March while in India it’s from October to September.

The USDA unit said the global inventory is predicted to increase as ‘massive stock building’ in India counters lower supplies in the EU and China.  Also, raw-sugar futures have crashed 18 percent this year in New York amid the bumper crops. Last year the price tumbled 22 percent.