Sugar prices hit 4-year low amid improving global supply

ISTANBUL

A pound of sugar tested its four-year low at $0.1626 on Wednesday, down 4% compared to the end of last month and 15% versus the start of the year.

Expectations of an increase in the global sugar supply pressured prices. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that global sugar production will increase 4.7% year-on-year in 2025/26, especially in India, Thailand and Brazil.

Expectations of more-than-regular monsoon rains in India this year and concerns about higher demand with the Iran-Israel conflict are among the factors causing prices to fall.

Meanwhile, China’s low sugar purchases and the slowdown in imports from Indonesia and Bangladesh have put downward pressure on prices.

Experts said the estimates of higher production due to favorable weather conditions have also influenced the price decline.

Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Capital, told Anadolu that “the simple explanation is good weather conditions in Asia, Central America, and Brazil, which are favoring crops and the production of sugar” for the decline in prices.

Tore Alden, a senior analyst at Fastmarkets, said improving weather in sugar-producing regions like Brazil affected sugar prices.

“There has been a shift and growth in corn-based ethanol production in Brazil,” he told Anadolu. “Since they typically make ethanol from sugar, there has probably been more sugar available for the export market from Brazil than in the past.”

“Prices are down primarily due to the weather, following several years of La Nina in South America,” he added.