IKAR in Mass and Industry Media

Russia 2011-12 beet sugar output seen 4.6-5.2 mln T

Reuters

MOSCOW, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Russia's beet sugar output from this year's crop is still expected to be a record, but the actual output may be in a wide range of 4.6 million to 5.15 million tonnes due to unpredictable weather, a leading sugar market analyst said on Monday.

"A significant volume of sugar of 4.60 to 5.15 million tonnes may be achieved if frosts set in and stay from now on to the end of January in the centre and in the south (of Russia), or else there will be losses," Yevgeni Ivanov of the Institute of Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) told Reuters.

Frozen beets can be processed into sugar, but heavy losses can be caused when beets thaw out.

The Russian Hydrometcentre weather forecasting service said on its website meteoinfo.ru on Monday that no hard frosts are expected this week in central and southern Russia.

Russia officially expects to refine over 5 million tonnes of white sugar from domestic beets, due to a record sugar beet crop resulting from an increased area sown with beet this year. The main sugar lobby believes output may be 5.2 million tonnes.

"From the 36.5 million tonnes of beets stockpiled at refineries by Dec. 5 some 4.69 (tonnes of sugar) may be refined. Besides this, there are around 2 million tonnes of beets stockpiled in the fields," Ivanov said.

He said that currently all sugar beet growing regions are urgently taking steps to preserve the beet, most of which is stockpiled in the open air and may be lost if frosts are followed by a thaw.

Russia, which used to be a leading sugar buyer, has drastically cut sugar imports this year, having imported just 700 tonnes of raw cane sugar in September and in October, compared to 90,400 tonnes in August.

Russian officials have said that Russia buyer may need no more imports of raw cane sugar this season and a government body has recommended keeping a tariff on raw sugar imports at a high level of no lower than $140 per tonne at least until May 2013.

IKAR believes that Russia may export 250,000-280,000 tonnes of white sugar in the current crop year which ends on July 1, 2012, it said in a monthly report.

IKAR also believes that if sugar prices do not rise to 24,000-25,000 roubles ($760-$790) per tonne in the benchmark Krasnodar region in March-April from 19,800 roubles last week farmers in many regions will cut sugar beet sowing areas in favour of grains, oilseeds and other crops next year, it said. ($1 = 31.47 Russian roubles)

15.12.11

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