Cyclone Hits Australian Sugar as Global Prices Surge

Sugar cane plantations in Australia, the third-largest exporter, suffered severe damage after Tropical Cyclone Yasi cut through an area accounting for a third of output, helping send futures prices to a 30-year high.

“We are going to see a massive reduction in the amount of sugar that region produces,” Steve Greenwood, chief executive officer of Brisbane-based producers group Canegrowers said today on Bloomberg television.