Thai Sugar Crop Outlook Worsens as Mills Grapple With New Export Rules
- Production to slump as drought ravages cane plantations
- Millers say rules could cause delays fulfilling contracts
A sugar cane field in Nong Nok Kaeo, Thailand.
Photographer: Valeria Mongelli/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Thailand’s sugar crop prospects are deteriorating just as the country’s millers are struggling to get to grips with the implications of new export regulations announced this week.
Sweetener production is likely to drop to 7-8 million tons in 2023-24 from 11 million tons crushed in the previous crop, according to the Thai Sugar Millers Corp. That means exports could fall to 4-5 million tons next year from 7 million expected in 2023, said the group’s director Rangsit Hiangrat.