AGL 38.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.16%)
AIRLINK 136.75 Increased By ▲ 2.56 (1.91%)
BOP 9.22 Increased By ▲ 0.37 (4.18%)
CNERGY 4.75 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (1.28%)
DCL 8.83 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (1.85%)
DFML 38.44 Decreased By ▼ -1.34 (-3.37%)
DGKC 85.40 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (0.29%)
FCCL 35.35 Increased By ▲ 0.45 (1.29%)
FFBL 76.99 Increased By ▲ 1.39 (1.84%)
FFL 12.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.31%)
HUBC 108.79 Decreased By ▼ -0.66 (-0.6%)
HUMNL 14.74 Increased By ▲ 0.64 (4.54%)
KEL 5.55 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (2.78%)
KOSM 8.05 Increased By ▲ 0.30 (3.87%)
MLCF 40.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.67 (-1.62%)
NBP 71.40 Increased By ▲ 1.70 (2.44%)
OGDC 194.75 Increased By ▲ 1.13 (0.58%)
PAEL 27.00 Increased By ▲ 0.79 (3.01%)
PIBTL 7.48 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.81%)
PPL 167.95 Increased By ▲ 4.10 (2.5%)
PRL 26.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-0.42%)
PTC 20.40 Increased By ▲ 0.93 (4.78%)
SEARL 92.84 Increased By ▲ 8.44 (10%)
TELE 7.89 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-1.25%)
TOMCL 35.32 Increased By ▲ 1.27 (3.73%)
TPLP 8.98 Increased By ▲ 0.26 (2.98%)
TREET 17.34 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (0.93%)
TRG 59.50 Decreased By ▼ -1.50 (-2.46%)
UNITY 31.00 Increased By ▲ 2.04 (7.04%)
WTL 1.39 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (1.46%)
BR100 10,895 Increased By 118.9 (1.1%)
BR30 32,660 Increased By 426.2 (1.32%)
KSE100 101,357 Increased By 1274.6 (1.27%)
KSE30 31,488 Increased By 295 (0.95%)

Severe drought could cause the 2010/11 sugar cane crop in Thailand to be 10 percent lower than previously forecast at 71-72 million tonnes and lead to a drop in sugar production in 2011, a senior industry official said on Monday. Cane for the 2010-11 crop is being planted progressively as the current crop is harvested from November 2009 to April 2010.
The 2010/11 crop could therefore suffer if the weather this summer is drier than normal, as forecast. "We expect to have around 71-72 million tonnes of cane in the 2010/11 crop at best," Prasert Tapaneeyangkul, secretary general of the Office of Cane and Sugar Board (OCSB), which oversees the country's sugar industry, told Reuters.
That is around 10 percent lower than the previous forecast of a record 80 million tonnes from the OCSB made in September, when it said farmers would shift from other commodities to grow cane to capitalise on a jump in world sugar prices. Cane output in the current 2009-10 crop is forecast by the OCSB to be 69-70 million tonnes.
The benchmark New York raw sugar contract hit a 29-year high at 30.40 cents in early February on worries about tight global supply after India, which is the world's second-largest sugar producer, became a net importer because of tumbling domestic output.
The forecast of 71-72 million tonnes of cane for the 2010-11 crop would be equivalent to around 7.1-7.2 million tonnes of sugar, little different from the forecast for the 2009-10 crop. Thailand, the world's second-biggest sugar exporter, is expected to produce around 7.0 million tonnes of sugar in 2009-10, according to the OCSB.
"We are concerned that the severe drought could cut production significantly as farmers were warned of extremely hot and dry weather this year," Prasert said. The Meteorological Department has warned of extremely high temperatures of up to 42 Celsius (108 Fahrenheit) during the summer period and less rain than usual when the rainy season starts in May.

Copyright Reuters, 2010

Comments

Comments are closed.