April 12, 2023
Business Mirror | https://bit.ly/3KVicbG
Sugar extended its surge in New York and London on mounting worries about tight supplies.
White-sugar futures rose 2.7 percent in London to settle at its highest price since November 2011. That elevated the white premium, the price difference between refined and raw sugar, which touched record highs in Tuesday trading before trimming gains. Raw sugar settled 2.6 percent higher in New York, its highest since October 2016.
A lack of deliverable sugar ahead of Friday’s expiry of the white-sugar contract for May is driving prices higher. The number of contracts to be closed, known as open interest, points to a “massive” delivery above 880,000 tons, said John Stansfield, a senior sugar analyst at DNEXT Intelligence, adding that those with short positions “don’t have the physical sugar to tender.”
Prices of the sweetener have jumped on prospects for limited exports out of key shipper India and lackluster supplies from Thailand, Europe, China and Mexico.
India is one of the largest exporters of white sugar, but shipments are controlled by quotas that are almost exhausted with no real expectation of an increase, said Soren Jensen, a longtime market observer. India’s refining industry might soon have to shift from domestically produced raw sugar to imports—most likely from Brazil. The South American country just started its harvest, but transportation bottlenecks are an issue with sugar competing against a record soybean crop for space on railways and at ports.
“There is growing concern that Brazil might not export as much as expected in the beginning of the season, however the market really needs the Brazilian sugar,” Jensen said.
UK poultry
The United Kingdom is poised to lift rules keeping all chickens indoors as the threat of bird flu wanes, heralding the return of free-range eggs to store shelves.
Poultry and captive birds will be allowed outside as of April 18, according to a statement from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. From that date, eggs from outdoor hens can again be labeled as free-range.
The lockdown was introduced in England in November as farmers battled the worst-ever outbreak of avian influenza, with cases also surging globally. The virus is often deadly and farmers typically cull flocks once a case is detected.
The risk of infection has now been cut to “medium” for farms with poor biosecurity and “low” for premises with good biosecurity, the government said. It cautioned that rigorous practices will still be needed to keep poultry healthy.
“It is thanks to the hard work of all bird keepers and vets who have played their part in keeping flocks safe this winter that we are in a position to take this action,” UK Chief Veterinarian Christine Middlemiss said. “However, the unprecedented nature of this outbreak has proven it’s more important than ever for bird keepers to remain vigilant for signs of disease and maintain stringent standards of biosecurity.”