Sugar Bulls Face Hurdle as Thai Crop May Bring Glut Back
- Thai production may jump 59% in the 2021-22 season: Czarnikow
- High prices and better weather lure farmers back to sugarcane
A rally in global sugar prices to near the highest in more than three years is spurring Thai millers to lure back farmers with record cane prices.
Photographer: Dario Pignatelli/Bloomberg
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Thailand’s sugar production is poised to rebound next season after the worst drought in 40 years decimated yields in the world’s second-biggest exporter, paving way for a supply glut that could thwart a bull party.
A combination of record cane prices for farmers and improving rainfall will boost sugar output 59% to 11 million tons in the 2021-22 season starting in October, according to London-based trader Czarnikow Group. That’s the highest in three years and would be a stark turnaround from 2020-21, when production hit a decade-low of 6.9 million tons.