Insight Focus
US Cash sugar market trading was slow last week. Deliveries remained strong, helping stabilise prices despite Florida crop losses and under booked buyers. Louisiana’s harvest was record-breaking and unaffected by freezes, while corn sweetener markets held steady with potential 2027 support from reduced corn acreage.
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February Freeze Dampens Cash Sugar Market Activity
Trading in the cash sugar market was slow last week, but deliveries were a bright spot for processors and refineries. Prices in both the spot market and for 2027 were unchanged.
Despite multiple sideline meetings, indications were that little business was booked at the recent International Sweetener Colloquium, held February 22–25 in Championsgate, Florida. The gap between buyers and sellers, which has remained wide for several months, remained fixed.
Buyers referenced an uncertain demand outlook amid the potential to import competitively priced supplies, while sellers locked in on offers as they assessed final production volumes and pointed to the steady flow of deliveries.
The measured approach from sellers primarily was driven by recent pressures on domestic supply. Growers in Florida were evaluating sugar cane crop conditions after a deep freeze in late January and early February caused significant damage.
One trade source said at least 10% of production likely was lost. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services estimated production losses as high as 35%, totalling about USD 576 million in lost revenue for the current season.
Source: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Strong Early-Year Deliveries Balance Market Uncertainty
Another factor delaying the rush to sell was the ramp-up in deliveries this quarter. Strong pulls from across all sectors indicated that demand, while reduced, had not disappeared and may even be stabilising.
“It’s been the best January and February we’ve ever had for deliveries,” one supplier said, adding that volumes probably would have been even stronger had there not been disruptions from a January snowstorm. March orders for contracted deliveries also increased, as did spot purchases. The thinking was that buyers who had previously under booked were now needing additional fill-in supplies.
The impact on the Florida crop and the optimistic pace of the current quarter’s deliveries gave sellers plenty of reasons to keep prices at current levels. One seller said adjusting values higher was not being considered due to the continued inflow of imports, including high-tier imports.
Unlike the sugar cane crop in Florida, the crop in Louisiana was not impacted by any of the freeze events that occurred in the state. Harvest of the Louisiana crop wrapped up in mid-January with record production. The February freeze could have impacted the crop had it not already been harvested.
Source: USDA
Kenneth Gravois, a sugarcane specialist at Louisiana State University, said growers likely will expand their sugar cane acreage next season despite pressure on the market from abundant supplies. Compared with other commodities, sugarcane still was more profitable.
The corn sweetener market was quiet. Refiners focused on producing and shipping products to fulfil contracts. Pricing mostly was steady, though talk of reduced corn acreage this year may be supportive of 2027 corn sweetener prices.
