IKAR in Mass and Industry Media

Russia's IKAR sees 2013/14 raw sugar imports up 85 pct

Reuters

MOSCOW, July 16 (Reuters) - Russia will increase its raw sugar imports by at least 85 percent in the 2013/14 marketing year starting on Aug. 1, as its own beet sugar output is expected to fall, Russia's Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) said on Tuesday.

Russia plans to become self-sufficient in sugar after being the world's biggest raw sugar importer a decade ago. But this plan is being delayed in 2013/14 as struggling farmers shift towards planting more profitable grains.

The country will import at least 850,000 tonnes of raw sugar in 2013/14 compared with about 460,000 tonnes this year, Yevgeny Ivanov, an analyst with IKAR, told Reuters.

Its beet sugar production is expected to fall by 19 percent to 3.85 million tonnes as last year's drought led many farmers to switch away from sugar, according to IKAR's preliminary estimate. Beet acreage fell 20 percent, year-on-year.

Russia consumes around 5.5 million tonnes of sugar a year, of which 65-75 percent is covered by its own sugar beet production.

To cover the rest, trade houses such as Sucden, Dreyfus and Cargill import raw sugar to Russia, mainly from Brazil, Cuba and other countries in Latin America.

16.07.13

All viewing: 138
Discuss