This update is from Sosland Publishing Co.’s weekly Sweetener Report. This update is from Sosland Publishing’s Sweetener Report. For more information and subscription details, CLICK HERE.
Insight Focus
The US sugar market is expecting a record crop this year. This has weighed on prices and means buyers are reluctant to take on large volumes, instead resorting to hand to mouth purchases.
Market at Standstill
Forward sales of bulk refined sugar advanced at a modest pace in the week ended August 9 amid ongoing price weakness resulting from expectations of record high 2024-25 domestic sugar production from large domestic sugar beet and cane crops.
Buyers were not rushing to complete 2025 coverage amid indications of ample sugar supplies and a weak market tone. Bulk refined sugar prices for 2024-25 were steady at 45¢/lb to 51¢/lb FOB Midwest. One processor remained out of the market at least until September.
Refined cane sugar price offers for 2025 were left unchanged at 56¢/lb to 57¢/lb Southeast and 59¢/lb Northeast. Spot beet and cane sugar values also were unchanged.
Solid Beet, Cane Condition Expected
Weekly crop progress updates indicated stellar conditions for most sugar beet and cane crops. State US Department of Agriculture offices said good-to-excellent ratings for beet crops as of August 4 were unchanged or higher from a week earlier. Michigan was the only state to report a week-over-week decline.
Most of the beet crop ratings were above year-ago levels except for Minnesota and Oregon. The Louisiana sugar cane good-to-excellent rating also slipped from a week earlier but remained sharply above a year ago.
It is believed that 2024 sugar beet production in the Red River Valley will be exceptional and may challenge last year’s record production for the region, thanks in part to near-ideal weather conditions this year. Some beet grower cooperatives in the Red River Valley and other areas will start harvesting early due to the large crops.
Smoke from forest fires were reducing heating degree days in Idaho, although the crop remained in good shape with ample supplies of irrigation water.
Trade sources indicated the sugar cane crop in Louisiana was “fantastic” and a marked improvement from the prior year’s drought-stressed crop. The USDA in July forecast record-high 2024-25 cane sugar production in Louisiana. The sugar cane crop in Florida also was in good shape and did not appear to suffer damage from Hurricane Debby.
Buyers Shun Contracts
Deliveries of contracted sugar for 2023-24 continued at a steady pace for most processors. Some sugar users were not drawing on contracts of domestic sugar because it was contracted last year at prices above what they can currently purchase imported high-duty sugar.
Last month, the USDA forecasted 2023-24 sugar deliveries for human consumption down about 1% from 2022-23, with 2024-25 deliveries projected flat on the current year. High-duty imports were forecasted at a record high in 2023-24.
Source: USDA
Corn sweetener markets were quiet. Buyers and sellers were awaiting the initial 2024 US corn production estimate in the August 12 USDA Crop Production report. Negotiations for annual contracts typically begin in August but may be slow to start this year as sellers are expected to raise offers from 2024 levels while buyers want lower prices amid sharply lower corn prices the past two years.
