Bangkok (VNA) – The Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) of Thailand is urging sugar producers to pursue value-added strategies, shifting to a bio-economy while the office warns about a possible glut in the second half of this year.
Nantapong Chiralerspong, Director-General of TPSO, was quoted by local media as saying that increased sugar cane and sugar output both in Thailand and the global market, coupled with Indonesia's self-sufficiency policy, require proactive industry adaptation.
He said sugar stakeholders should align production with market demand, explore new export markets, and accelerate the industry's evolution towards value-added processing with a focus on bio-energy and bio-products.
If major manufacturers produce more ethanol, Nantapong said sugar prices could improve.
He said Thailand's 2025-2026 sugar cane output is expected to rise due to favourable rainfall, with total cane crushing projected to reach 98 million tonnes, up 7% year-on-year.
In 2025, Thailand was the world's second-largest sugar exporter, trailing Brazil, and shipped 5.5 million tonnes valued at more than 2.6 billion USD. Exports to Indonesia were valued at 715 million USD, accounting for more than 27% of total exports. Other key markets included Cambodia, the Republic of Korea and the Philippines.
With Indonesia shifting to a self-sufficiency policy, Nantapong said Thai sugar producers must diversify their export options.
Potential risks for the latter half of this year include a possible domestic sugar glut and reduced demand from Indonesia, noted TPSO. Increased production by major global suppliers such as India and Brazil is expected to depress global sugar prices.
However, despite this pricing pressure, the situation is unlikely to escalate into a crisis, said Nantapong.
According to Grand View Research, the global sugar market is expected to post an average annual growth rate of 6.5% through 2030, surpassing 102 billion USD.
In 2025, the top five sugar importers were China, the US, Indonesia, Bangladesh and India.
To reduce market concentration risk, Nantapong said Thailand should consider expanding its customer base in East Asia and Central Asia, where purchasing power remains strong.
Maintaining quality, standards, and traceability will be essential to build importer confidence, he said./.
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