PRESS ROOM
Sugar makes gains as demand outlook improves
Monday 19th October '20
Sugar prices have appreciated by over 11% since the end of August as the commodity has now more than offset its losses from the first quarter of the year. Prices dropped sharply in March as demand fell suddenly at the peak of the global pandemic. Equally, very low energy prices meant that producers in Brazil – one of the largest producers of raw sugar cane in the world – opted to produce more sugar instead of ethanol. Ethanol, which is also produced from sugar cane, is used in flex-fuel cars, and became less lucrative to produce when fuel demand had collapsed. As energy prices have risen, this added supply pressure on sugar has gradually waned.