Sugar Prices Up By 26%
“International freight rates fell to fresh lows in late January and February and have since recovered where fuel costs remained steady,” a Government statement said.
Monday 12 June 2023 | 14:41
Sugar minister, Charan Jeath Singh, permanent secretary Yogesh Punja, at the 62nd International Sugar Organisation (ISO) Council meeting at Ezulwini, Eswatini.
Raw sugar prices increased by 26 per cent in last quarter, line minister Charan Jeath Singh said as a three-day international industry meeting concluded in Africa.
And refined sugar was up by 25 per cent, he said.
The concerns were discussed at the 62nd International Sugar Organisation (ISO) Council meeting at Ezulwini, Eswatini, which Mr Singh and permanent secretary Yogesh Karan, attended.
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“International freight rates fell to fresh lows in late January and February and have since recovered where fuel costs remained steady,” a Government statement said.
“It was also noted that producers were struggling with high input costs and competition for arable land from other commodities.”
The London-based ISO is the unique intergovernmental body devoted to improving conditions on the world’s sugar market.
Comprising 88 member states, the organization represent 86 per cent of world sugar production, 67 per cent of world sugar consumption, 92 per cent of world exports, and 40 per cent of world imports.
“The proactive attitude to include ethanol from sugar crops in our activities already in the mid-90s helped to promote the increasing role of biofuels in the future energy-mix worldwide,” the ministry said.
The ISO exists to administer the internationally negotiated 1992 International Sugar Agreement (ISA), the objectives are to enhance international cooperation with optimum results for every aspect of the sugar industry’s outputs, particularly to increase demand for sugar imports and exports.
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