LONDON - Spot sugar prices in the European Union are recovering from last year’s record lows as world prices languish, prompting a pick-up in imports to one of the few global regions where output is slumping.
Spot EU white sugar prices were at 422 euros a tonne in late March, according to price provider S&P Global Platts, while global white sugar prices on ICE are currently at around $330 a tonne, not far off the 2018 decade low of $307.50. The rise in prices follows a poor EU harvest that has left output for the 2018/19 season at around 18 million tonnes, down some 3 million tonnes from 2017/18. The 2019/20 EU harvest is also seen at around 18 million tonnes following reduced beet plantings.
Suedzucker, which plans to reduce output by 700,000 tonnes per year starting next season, expects to make another operating loss in its sugar segment of 200-300 million euros in 2019/20. France’s Tereos, the world’s second-largest sugar maker, expects a full-year loss for 2018/19.