The Philippines' non-US-quota sugar exports nearly doubled over the past week to about 121,000 tonnes, the industry regulator said on Thursday, with the United States leading the buyers with an additional order for 39,000 tonnes. Japan bought 4,000 tonnes, and China and South Korea ordered 6,000 tonnes each from August 9 to 15, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said, after a bumper harvest left the Southeast Asian nation with hefty local stocks.
Before August 9, around 66,000 tonnes of raw sugar had been committed for shipment to Japan, South Korea and Indonesia. "The figures we gathered from exporters and traders show the US buying a volume of around 39,000 tonnes. This is on top of its import quota allocation to the Philippines," Rosemarie Gumera, manager at SRA's policy and planning unit, told Reuters.
With the additional orders, total committed shipments to Japan are now nearly 50,000 tonnes, and 12,000 tonnes to South Korea, Gumera said. Indonesia has purchased around 14,000 tonnes so far, she said. With its 2010/11 crop yielding a bumper harvest amid favourable weather, the Philippines aims to sell more than 300,000 tonnes of sugar this year, including refined sugar, about 100,000 tonnes above a previous target.
Manila expects to close the 2010/11 season in end-August with 780,000 tonnes of sugar stocks, and produce at least 2.4 million tonnes in 2011/12 crop season, which begins next month. The Philippines' oversupply adds to a 2011/12 global surplus of around 4 million tonnes, based on the International Sugar Organisation's preliminary estimates.
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