October NY world sugar #11 (SBV26) closed up +0.16 (+0.91%) on Wednesday, and December London ICE white sugar #5 (SWZ26) closed down -1.90 (-0.37%).
Sugar prices settled mixed on Wednesday. Sugar prices found support on concerns that rains in Brazil are slowing the country’s sugarcane harvest. However, prices fell back from their best levels, with London sugar falling into negative territory, after StoneX narrowed its 2026/27 global sugar deficit estimate to -900,000 MT from a July estimate of -1.7 MMT.
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On Tuesday, NY sugar fell to a 1-month low, and London sugar fell to a 1.5-month low. Sugar prices have been under pressure over the past week on demand concerns. 499,350 MT of sugar was delivered against the October London sugar contract that expired last Tuesday, up +91% y/y and one of the largest deliveries for an October contract on record, signaling weak physical demand for sugar.
Excessive long positions by commodity funds could exacerbate any long liquidation pressure in NY sugar futures. Last Friday’s weekly Commitment of Traders (COT) report showed funds boosted their long NY sugar positions by +791 net long positions in the week ended September 15 to 161,342, the most in almost three years.
On September 10, NY sugar posted a 17.25-month high on the outlook for a global deficit. On September 1, the International Sugar Organization (ISO) projected a 2026/27 global sugar deficit of -200,000 MT versus a projected +1.1 MMT surplus for 2025/26. Meanwhile, the Thai Sugar Millers Corp on September 7 projected that 2026/27 Thailand sugar production could fall -17% y/y to 10 MMT. Thailand is the world’s second-largest sugar exporter.
On August 3, Covrig Analytics said it now expects a global sugar deficit in 2026/27 of -300,000 MT, compared to a June forecast for a +100,00 MT surplus. Meanwhile, Czarnikow on August 14 predicted a 2027/28 global sugar deficit of -2.9 MMT as Brazil’s sugar mills produce more ethanol than sugar amid the recent surge in crude oil prices from the US-Iran war. The group forecast that 2027/28 global sugar production will fall -0.7% yr/yr to 177 MMT, driven mainly by weather disruptions in India, the EU, and Thailand.
India’s Meteorological Department reported on Wednesday that India’s cumulative monsoon rainfall (June-Sep) was 15% below normal as of September 23, although it had substantially improved from 42% below normal on June 30. India’s Meteorological Department has warned that this year’s monsoon in India could be the weakest in 17 years. India’s monsoon season runs from June through September. India is the world’s second-largest sugar-producing country.
On August 20, India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade said it will allow up to 1 MMT of raw sugar imports into the country free of any taxes until October 31. The move further signals the supply strain facing the global sugar market, as India is usually a sugar exporter and last imported sugar in substantial volumes during the 2017-18 season.
Lower sugar output in Brazil is bullish for sugar prices after Unica reported on August 6 that Brazil Center-South June sugar production fell -26.3% y/y to 3.903 MMT. Brazil is the world’s largest sugar-producing country.
Concerns that dry weather from an El Niño event could disrupt global sugar production are bullish for sugar prices. A super El Niño is likely to curb rainfall in Brazil, India, and Thailand, the world’s three largest sugar-producing regions. On July 8, the US Climate Prediction Center said the El Niño weather pattern that emerged across the equatorial Pacific last month will likely be one of the strongest in more than 75 years.
On April 7, the Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) revised its 2025/26 India sugar production forecast to 32 MMT, down from an earlier projection of 32.4 MMT. ISMA also projects India’s 2025/26 sugar exports of 800,000 MT. India introduced a quota system for sugar exports in 2022/23 after late rain reduced production and limited domestic supplies. Meanwhile, the USDA on April 30 said it expects a 2026/27 sugar surplus in India of 2.5 MMT, the first surplus in two years.
The International Sugar Organization (ISO) projects a record global sugar crop for the 2025/26 season and a global sugar surplus. ISO forecasts 2025/26 global sugar production at a record 182 MMT, up +3.5% y/y, and projects a 2025/26 global sugar surplus estimate of 1.1 MMT, down from a May forecast of 2.2 MMT, rebounding from a -3.46 MMT deficit in 2024-25.
For 2026/27, however, ISO forecasts global sugar production to fall by -1% y/y to 180.1 MMT, with a global sugar deficit of -200,000 MT, citing the potential impact of an El Niño weather pattern on harvests in India and Thailand. For 2026/27, StoneX on August 18 raised its forecast to a global sugar deficit of 1.7 MMT from a May estimate of -550,000 MT, while Covrig Analytics cut its surplus forecast to 100,000 MT from a May estimate of 380,000 MT.
The USDA, in its biannual report released in May, projected that global 2026/27 sugar production would fall by 6.5% y/y to 184.854 MMT from a record 186.056 MMT in 2025/26. Global 2026/27 human sugar consumption is expected to increase +0.4% y/y to a record 179.991 MMT. The USDA also forecasts that 2026/27 global sugar ending stocks would increase by 2.0% y/y to 44.410 MMT. The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) predicted that Brazil’s 2026/27 sugar production would fall by -3.0% y/y to 42.5 MMT. FAS predicted that India’s 2026/27 sugar production would increase by +12% y/y to 33.6 MMT, driven by favorable monsoon rains and increased sugar acreage. FAS predicted that Thailand’s 2026/76 sugar production will fall by -15.6% y/y to 9.5 MMT.
On the date of publication,
Rich Asplund
did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes.
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