IKAR in Mass and Industry Media

Russia sugar sowing goes well despite drought-lobby

Reuters

MOSCOW, May 16 (Reuters) - Sugar beet sowings in most Russian planting areas were proceeding well, despite a drought in the country's Southern regions, the chairman of the industry lobby group and a sugar market analyst said on Wednesday.

Russia, formerly the third-largest sugar importer, produced a record 5.05 million tonnes of sugar last year. But this spring a drought in parts of Russia's southern sugar regions has raised concerns about the condition of the forthcoming crop.

Andrey Bodin, chairman of the Russian Sugar Producers' Union, told Reuters there were signs of a spring drought in South regions but it was too early to talk about significant losses in the crop as a larger part of sugar beet sowing was in "a good condition".

This year the weather is not as favourable as a year ago but the situation itself is far from being dreadful, said Yevgeni Ivanov, sugar market analyst with the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR).

These weather conditions should not prompt Russia to increase sugar imports this year after the country has already imported about 300,000 tonnes of sugar in the period from March to mid-May and, in addition, needs to buy about 200,000 tonnes by July to cover its domestic consumption.

The country will export sugar, mainly to CIS countries, in the next few years if global market prices stay at reasonable levels, Bodin said.

Domestic prices for Russian sugar fell last week to $781 per tonne from $804 per tonne seen in the preceding period, according to IKAR.

Global raw sugar prices at ICE have now fallen 23 percent to around 20.57 cents per lb after hitting a 2012 peak of 26.78 cents in late February.

16.05.12

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