Sugar Extends Gains After WDSE Report

Sugar futures rose above 16.5 cents per pound, extending gains following the USDA’s latest supply and demand estimates.

The WASDE report showed that US sugar production was lowered to 9.19 million short tons, down 59,000 from last month, mainly due to reduced beet sugar output.

Despite this decline, overall sugar supply rose to 13.808 million STRV, as higher beginning stocks and an increase in high-tariff imports offset the production cut.

Imports from Mexico were trimmed by over 229K STRV under export licenses, though high-tier tariff imports were raised in anticipation of limited specialty quotas.

Globally, Pakistan confirmed an import quota of 500K tons of refined sugar; the Philippines announced purchases of over 400K tons; and China recorded, in June, its largest quarterly import since 2018.

Meanwhile, the impact of the US tariff on Brazilian sugar exports is expected to be limited, with ethanol exports facing greater pressure, given Brazil’s smaller share of the US sugar market.