2011-2012 sugar exports may nearly double — SRA

PHILIPPINE sugar exports in the current crop year ending August 2012 may climb around 86% from a year ago with a forecast surplus, the industry regulator yesterday said, adding to a global oversupply.

More than a fourth, or 672,000 tons, of the Philippines’ projected raw sugar output of 2.4 million tons in the 2011/2012 crop year can be sold to the United States and other countries, Regina Bautista-Martin, chief of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).

The country’s total US quota and non-US quota exports committed during the 2010-2011 crop year was around 362,000 tons.

“Eight percent is A sugar, 20% is D sugar, and 72% is B sugar,” Ms. Bautista-Martin said after a meeting with sugar industry leaders during which they finalized the export allocation for the current year.

Category A sugar is intended for the United States while D sugar is for non-US markets. Category B is for the domestic market.

The Philippines closed the 2010/2011 crop year on Aug. 31 with total raw sugar output of 2.39 million tons, the highest in three years and up 21% from 2009/2010.

The United States has set an annual import quota for the Philippines of 144,901 tons raw value (MTRV) unit for 2011/12 and 224,549 MTRV for the just concluded crop year.

It bought an extra 42,578 tons on top of its 2010/2011 sugar quota, and may seek extra supply again this year.

Manila’s non-US quota exports at the end of the 2010-2011 crop year reached 137,109 tons, including the extra shipments ordered by the United States. Other countries that sought supply from the Philippines were Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Indonesia.

Projections of higher Philippine exports come as India may allow unrestricted shipments of 2.8 million tons in the 2011/12 season versus 1.5 million tons so far this year, Thailand is forecast to raise 2011/2012 exports to 3.3 million tons from 2.2 million, Russia is set to double its output, while Ukraine and EU are seeing big harvests.

These would weigh on global prices and compensate for the lower Brazilian crop, possibly prompting China to replenish its stocks that have been drawn down this year by a severe drought.

Benchmark New York prices with the ICE October raw sugar futures closed 3.0% lower to 28.29 cents a pound on Tuesday, before recovering over the past two days on hopes the European debt crisis might ease. — Reuters