EU - Sugar prices surge amid reduced production and rising energy costs

摘要

European Union is experiencing record-high sugar prices, nearly three times the levels seen a year ago, following reduced output after a long drought and a rise in energy costs. This is forcing confectioners to consider production cuts, reported Reuters. Sugar dealers and industry experts said spot prices for refined white sugar on the continent are trading at around €1050 (US$1016.61) a tonne - their highest level yet. By contrast, prices in the world market are around half those levels. "We are in a sugar market crisis," Muriel Korter, director general of the EU confectionery industry association Caobisco, told Reuters. "We fear our companies, especially our many small and medium-sized enterprises, might soon face the difficult choice of whether to halt or reduce production this winter temporarily."