The Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association has projected a decline in the price of sugar in the coming time.

The country consumed around 1.3 million tons of sugar last year, leaving a sugar stockpile of 90,000 tons at the moment. In this crop, sugar output is forecast to reach 1.4 million.

This is the third consecutive year that the national sugar production has increased non-stop.

The estimated output for this year is subject to sugar imports from Thailand and a huge sugar surplus of 200,000 tons, said Nguyen Thanh Long, head of the association. Meanwhile, such a huge surplus as a result of low demand in the year to date is forcing local sugar refineries to sell their products.

The sugar industry this year has experienced some changes in trading activities from a couple of years ago, said Trinh Minh Chau, board chairman of Soc Trang Sugarcane Joint Stock Co.

In previous years, sugar traders played a key role in sugar consumption and stockpile. However, difficult access to capital and high interest rates have led them to transfer this job to refineries, he said.

Many sugar mills have huge surplus sugar at the moment. A surplus of one kilo of sugar generates an extra VND200 in loan interest on a production cost of VND15,000 per kilo, Chau said.

Source Thesaigontimes.vn