Sugar stocks outlook reduced

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday reduced its outlook for sugar imports in the 2018/19 crop year as it slightly raised its domestic production forecast. The USDA put the closely watched stocks-to-use ratio at 13.6 for the crop year through end-September, down from last month's forecast of 14.6 and from 16.1 in 2017/18.
US beet and cane production will total 9.1 million tons (8.3 million tonnes), versus a previous forecast of 9 million tons, the USDA said in its monthly report. That would be down from an estimated 9.3 million tons last year. The agency slashed its outlook for imports to 2.9 million tons from a February forecast of 3.1 million tons, with much of the reduction coming from lower Mexican imports. That would be down from 3.3 million tons in 2017/18.