Sugar shipments point to higher China demand

[LONDON] Brazil, the world's largest sugar producer, is boosting shipments to China, fuelling speculation that demand in the world's second-biggest importer of the raw sweetener will exceed forecasts for a second year.

Vessels scheduled to sail from Brazil's main ports on Dec 11 were set to take 234,500 tonnes of sugar to China, more than twice the previous week's total, according to Recife, Brazil-based shipping agency Williams Servicos Maritimos Ltda. Imports into China climbed to a record in October, the first month of the 2013-14 season, customs data showed.

China brought in 3.8 million tonnes of raw sugar in 2012-13, estimates Kingsman SA, a unit of McGraw Hill Financial Inc's Platts. That's almost four times the amount a US Department of Agriculture unit forecast at the start of last season. Purchases beat estimates as a government stockpiling programme attracted more shipments. Imports will probably fall 29 per cent this marketing year to 2.7 million tonnes, according to Kingsman. "Our forecast is based on the assumption that the Chinese government won't restart state purchases," Xiaoxiao Du, an analyst at Kingsman in Lausanne, Switzerland, said on Tuesday by e-mail. "The number of imports may surprise us on the upside if government implements the stockpiling programme once again."