China, the world's top sugar buyers, imported 369,189 tonnes of raw sugar in June, up 54 from the same period a year earlier and much more than prior months as low global prices attracted customers. Imports for the first six months, however, were down 43 percent to 1.3 million tonnes year-on-year, customs data showed on Thursday. China's sugar imports hit a record in 2015 but have slowed this year as global prices climbed. Strong inflows last year have also led to ample stockpiles.
But a dip in global prices to around 15 cents per pound in April triggered renewed buying, said one trader, pushing up arrivals in June. Imports in July could be as high as 700,000 tonnes, he added, declining to be identified as he is not allowed to talk to media. Domestic prices are also rising, which will also help spur more imports during the peak summer consumption period, said analysts.
However, full-year imports are set to be well below last year's 4.85 million tonnes, with one trader estimating they could decline to 4 million tonnes. "Fundamentally the pressure (on domestic prices) is still there, with smuggling and big stockpiles," he said. The mismatch between domestic and international sugar prices and Chinese government restrictions on imports through import permits has spurred smuggling of white sugar along China's southern borders, curbing purchases of raw sugar. And while China's 2016 crop was lower than expected at 8.7 million tonnes, leaving a sizeable deficit to plug, recent heavy rain across much of China has not impacted key sugar regions in the south, he added.
Comments
Comments are closed.