Japan's sugar imports in the April-June quarter will likely fall 14 percent from a year earlier due to a rise in stocks and after good weather helped boost locally grown supply, the Ministry of Agriculture said on Tuesday.
Japan's sugar imports are estimated at 319,800 tonnes on a refined basis for the April-June period, compared with an actual 371,900 tonnes a year earlier, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry revised up its estimate of demand for high fructose corn syrup in the year through September 2008 to 811,000 tonnes, up from its outlook three months ago of 800,000 tonnes, reflecting the sweetner's increased use in cold drinks. But the ministry maintained its estimate of demand for sugar, either imported or locally produced, for the same period. The Japanese sweetener industry uses the ministry's outlook as a guide for deciding levels of production.