USDA boosts forecast for 2018/19 sugar crops

THE U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday upped its outlook for sugar supplies in 2018/19 amid higher production of both beet and cane.
The closely watched stocks-to-use ratio stood at 18.1 for the marketing year that begins Oct. 1, versus a previous forecast of 13.5 and 16.9 in the previous season, according to the monthly USDA report.
Total U.S. sugar production will reach 9.088 million tons (8.24 million tonnes) in 2018/19, nearing last year’s record of 9.26 million tons, the USDA said.
The agency’s import forecast for 2018/19 was unchanged at 3.56 million tons, versus an estimate for 2017/18 of 3.39 million tonnes. — Reuters