Sugar Shoots Up as Brazil Will Benefit
The world's most heavily traded sugar futures contract, Sugar No. 11 on the ICE, rose Tuesday 4.6% to 13.72 cents per pound after UNICA reported that Brazil will use more sugarcane than expected for ethanol production as crude oil continues its push into uncharted territory. This is the highest Sugar No. 11 has been in nearly four months. UNICA reported that ethanol consumption in Brazil has risen 54.8% between January and May as, "in recent weeks, in 92% of the Brazilian market, ethanol from the pump recorded prices 65% lower than a liter of gasoline." With this newly created demand, and what is expected to be a rainy next month, Brazil's sugar prices are bound to rise. This is not a bad thing, though, as the current price for sugar in Brazil is very low. As Carlos Murilo Barros de Mello of Cosan puts it, "the world will need more cane, the most competitive country is Brazil, so prices will have to rise to boost investment in new mills."


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