Wilmar said to take record sugar delivery on ICE

[NEW YORK] Wilmar International took 1.9 million metric tons of sugar, the biggest delivery against expiring futures in New York on record.

The Singapore-based company accepted 37,611 contracts, each representing 112,000 pounds (50,800 KG), according to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because information is private. The sweetener came from ports in Latin America, with the majority coming from Brazil, the world's top producer and exporter, according to data from ICE Futures US published Friday.

Sugar prices have tumbled about 28 per cent in the past 12 months amid a global glut. Bumper harvests in India and Thailand added to supplies, while declines for Brazil's currency encouraged growers to increase shipments that fetch dollars in return.

"It's a very large delivery even at low prices," Jack Scoville, a vice president at Price Futures Group in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. "That's not an indication there's demand in the cash market, by any stretch of imagination." ED&F Man delivered 7,954 of the raw-sugar contracts, with Louis Dreyfus handling 7,869 contracts, the companies said. Brokers acting on behalf of clients include Jefferies Bache LLC and ADM Investor Services were listed as sellers on the ICE notice that was posted on its website. Iris Chan, a spokeswoman for Wilmar in Singapore, declined to comment on the company's sugar delivery in an April 30 e-mail.

World production will top demand by 620,000 tons in the 12 months ending in September, the International Sugar Organization said in February. The industry group raised its surplus outlook by 31 per cent from a November estimate.

BLOOMBERG