The amount of sugar waiting to be loaded onto ships in top producer Brazil jumped 31 percent over the past week, with vessels heading to China, Malaysia and India, according to Williams Servicos Maritimos Ltda.
About 2.17 million metric tons of the sweetener awaited loading at the ports of Recife, Maceio, Paranagua and Santos, the country’s biggest, data e-mailed yesterday from the Recife, Brazil-based Williams Brasil showed. That compared with 1.66 million tons a week earlier, according to the shipping agency.
Ships headed to China are set to take about 11 percent, or 245,000 tons, of all the sugar waiting at the ports, the data showed. Vessels bound to Malaysia will take 218,000 tons and shipments scheduled for India, the world’s second-biggest producer and largest consumer, totaled 199,000 tons.
India is importing for its refining business and potentially for domestic consumption after dry weather cut output. Sugar production there will be 23.5 million tons in the 2012-13 season started this month, down 2.7 million tons from a year earlier, Paris-based trading company Sucres et Denrees SA said in a quarterly report e-mailed yesterday.
“Imports of raw sugar for the domestic markets are now close to break-even despite the 10 percent import duty,” Sucres et Denrees said in the report. “Sustained flows of raw sugar should take place between center south Brazil and India over the fourth quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013.”
Raw sugar for March delivery dropped 1.9 percent to 20.85 cents a pound by 5:55 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York.
