Sugar cane harvesting at a farm of Lam Sơn Sugar JSC. (Photo: lasuco.vn) The move is the first in seven years due to a lack of rain, cutting caneyields.
Reuters citing a government source stated that New Delhi's primary focus is tofulfil local sugar requirements and produce ethanol from surplus sugarcane.
However, due to unfavourable weather conditions, the country will not haveenough sugar for export in the upcoming season.
India allowed mills to export only 6.1 million tonnes of sugar during thecurrent season to September 30, after shipping a record 11.1 million tonneslast season. In 2016, India imposed a 20% tax on sugar exports to curb overseassales.
After the news was reported, investors’ interest shifted to sugar stocks, withall shares traded on three stock exchanges soaring on August 24, of which threeout of five ticker symbols hit the ceiling prices.
Specifically, shares Thanh Thanh Cong – Bien Hoa JSC (SBT) and Lam Son SugarJSC (LSS) traded on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) jumped 7%, while KonTum Sugar (KTS) on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) logged the biggest daily gainof 10%.
The Son La Sugar JSC on HNX and Quang Ngai Sugar JSC (QNS) on UPCoM also surged7.4% and 6.5%, respectively.
Despite the market correction in the last trading session of the week, sugarstocks still tasted sweet, with SBT, LSS and KTS up in a range of 0.6-5.3%.
For the week, sugar shares registered increases of 5-11.1%, of which KTS grewthe most, up more than 11.1%.
Concerns about scarce supply weighed on global food security, pushing sugar pricesto hover at 11-year highs.
The price of raw sugar in the US was last quoted at 24.83 cents per pound, again of 26.4% over the beginning of the year.
Higher sugar prices on the international market is one of the drivers boostingdomestic sugar stocks.
According to the Vietnam Sugarcane Association (VSSA), domestic sugarproduction is expected to reach 871,000 tonnes, up 16.6% for the year 2022/23,while sugar prices are set to remain high and in line with the global sugarprices in 2023 as imported sugar accounts for two-thirds of the country’s sugarsupply.
Meanwhile, a report from the US Department of Agriculture said that Vietnam’ssugar consumption in 2023 is estimated at nearly 2.4 million tonnes, an averageof nearly 200,000 tonnes a month.
As a result, the amount of sugar produced domestically can only meet fourmonths of consumption demand and the sugar import quota this year is about 319,070tonnes.
This means domestic sugar outputs and officially imported sugar can only meet50% of demand in 2023.
Therefore, the Government Office has just issued an express dispatch to theMinistry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment on proposal to purchase an additional 600,000 tonnes of sugar frominternational markets.
This will benefit domestic refineries that have to import raw sugar.
KB Securities Vietnam JSC (KBSC) forecasts that the price of cane sugar willcontinue to stay at a high level, supporting the growth momentum of sugarproducers in the country and in the world before entering a clearer correctionphase.
In a recent report, SSI Research also said that the price of refined sugar willremain around 20,000 VND per kg (0.83 USD per kg), up 12% year-on-year,starting the second quarter of 2023.
Anti-subsidy and anti-dumping policies applied to Thailand's sugar to protectdomestic enterprises are other drivers contributing to long-term improvement ofdomestic sugar production and sugar prices.
Even though the Ministry of Finance is consulting on the excise tax on sugarydrinks with the draft revised Law on Special Consumption Tax to be submitted tothe National Assembly in May 2024, SSI Research believes that the excise taxwill have little impact on domestic sugar consumption.
Therefore, it believes that business results of the sugar industry will developpositively in the future.
In four quarters of the fiscal year 2022/23, sugar producers posted mixedbusiness results. In particular, Lam Son Sugar and Thanh Thanh Cong – Bien Hoa reportedlosses of 78% and 66% on-year, respectively, in their profit after tax.
On the contrary, Quang Ngai Sugar, Son La Sugar and Kon Tum Sugar all recordedstrong growth of up to 620% year-on-year.
The fiscal year of the sugar industry starts from July 1 of the previous yearto June 30 of the next year./.
VNA
