IKAR in Mass Media

IKAR analysts cut Russia beet sugar output forecast

10 июля 2010 года

MOSCOW, July 8 (Reuters) - The Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) analysts have lowered their beet sugar output forecast for this year to 3.8-4.0 million tonnes from previous 4.2 million due to drought, IKAR said on Thursday.

This is in line with the forecast maintained by the Russian Sugar Producers Union, the main industry lobby, on the results of the first seasonal sugar beet test in spite of the drought. But IKAR said it may cut the forecast further.

"If in the next one or two weeks there are no rains in the regions along the Volga river and in the Urals -- where some 11 percent of beets are grown -- and especially in the Central Black Soil region -- accounting for 65 percent -- IKAR will lower its forecast drastically," it said.

Russia refined 3.2 million tonnes of sugar from last year's beet crop, down from a previous record of 3.5 million tonnes achieved in 2008/09.

Russia, third-largest sugar buyer, refines over a half of white sugar it consumes from domestic beet and most of the remainder from imported raw cane sugar.

This year it had imported 1.78 million tonnes of raw sugar in January-May, the bulk of which -- 1.4 million tonnes -- in May alone, as its import tariff fell to $50 per tonne, before rising to $200 in June, $239 in July and $203 in August.

IKAR said in its monthly note it expects sugar imports to practically stop at least until the end of the year because of the high tariff. It said in June Russia imported 379,822 tonnes, and in July it expected exports to dwindle to 25,000 tonnes.

It said it expected the tariff to remain high in September to be $171 per tonne. (Reporting by Aleksandras Budrys)

Source: Reuters | #sugar | Comments: 0 Views: 65

There are no comments yet. Be the first!

Only authorized users can comment.