Suttinee Yuvejwattana
Thu, September 7, 2023
(Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s sugar output will drop by almost a fifth in the upcoming harvest due to a severe drought, according to the country’s lead industry association, which will further tighten the global market.
Production will fall by 18% to around 9 million tons in the 2023/24 season, said Rangsit Hiangrat, director of Thai Sugar Millers Corp. Extreme heat and dryness will probably become worse in the coming years, he said in an phone interview on Thursday.
“Some farmers may switch to planting cassava” in the hope the crop will better withstand the heat, Rangsit said. “With this kind of drought, I doubt that any crop will grow well. Sugar cane, cassava or rice will all suffer.”
Thailand is the world’s No. 2 sugar exporter, so a drop in production will put even more pressure on the global market. Prices jumped to an 11-year high this week after Alvean, the world’s largest trader of the commodity, forecast another year of shortages. Extreme heat in India is also contributing to the sugar crunch, highlighting how climate change is roiling global food markets.
Rangsit forecasts that the country’s sugar exports will drop to 6 million tons next year from 8 million tons this year. Overseas sales in the first seven months of 2023 are up 2.4% from the year-earlier period, according to the Thai commerce ministry.
Sugar cane production is expected to drop to 82 million tons in 2023/24 from 93.9 million tons this season due to water shortages in key production areas, Rangsit said.
No comments:
Post a Comment