SUGAR: U.S. sugar production for 2015/16 is projected at 8.849 million short tons, raw value (STRV). Production of Florida cane sugar is increased 62,539 STRV to 2.136 million based on a larger sugarcane crop reported by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Beet sugar production is reduced by 147,594 STRV to 5.010 million due to lowerexpected sucrose recovery from sliced sugarbeets. U.S. cane sugar refiners are expected to import more sugar in 2015/16 under the USDA reexport import program to take advantage of the large margin between domestic and world raw sugar prices. The increase is projected at 61,524 STRV, implying total imports of 300,000. Refiners have more than sufficient room on their license balances for this quantity of imports. Deliveries for human consumption in 2015/16 are unchanged. Sugar deliveries are running slightly ahead of the same corresponding period last year but there are significant differences. Strong deliveries of sugar sold by U.S. cane sugar refineries are up 2.8 percent year-over-year. There is a stronger pace of direct consumption imports reflecting a pick-up in refined sugar imports from Mexico, and a continuing weakness in beet sugar deliveries to
consumers that are down 9.5 percent year-over-year. U.S. ending stocks for 2015/16 are projected at 1.565 million STRV, implying an endingstocks-to-use ratio of 12.8 percent.
Source USDA WASDE