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- Thailand exported 301k tonnes of raw sugar in May; this is a 116k tonne decrease month-on-month.
- Cumulative Thai raw sugar exports have now reached 2.1m tonnes.
- This means 75% of the raw sugar made this year has already been exported.
Raw Sugar Shipments: A Steep Fall
- Thailand’s raw sugar shipments declined in May for the third successive month.
- Already, 75% of this year’s raw sugar production has been exported, which means we’re unlikely to see a rebound in raw sugar exports in the coming months.
- This follows the worst drought in 40 years which seriously impacted Thai cane growth, and therefore raw sugar supply.
- Thailand is often a key supplier of raw sugar to Indonesia, having exported a 601k tonnes there in Feb’20.
- But in May, Thailand exported just 158k tonnes to Indonesia.
- Thailand’s limited supply, and a change to Indonesia’s import rules means they turned to India for the majority of their raw sugar last month.
- Vietnam appears to have come to Thailand’s rescue, however, importing 136k tonnes of raw sugar in May; this is a monthly increase of 77k tonnes.
- This influx occurred as Vietnam removed their high import duty earlier in the year.