Russia’s Refined Sugar Stockpiles May Be Reduced 22%, Ikar Says

Russia’s white, or refined, sugar stockpiles by the end of March may be reduced 22 percent from a year earlier, according to Yevgeny Ivanov, an analyst at the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies.

Stockpiles will drop to an estimated 1.3 million metric tons by March 31, from 1.7 million tons a year earlier, Ivanov said by e-mail today. Raw sugar reserves may be down to 136,000 tons from 295,000 tons over the same period, he said.

Raw sugar prices jumped 19 percent last year, partly on speculation drought in Russia would curb its sugar beet crop and boost its demand for sweetener imports. Russia’s sugar consumption in the first quarter will be little changed at 1.1 million tons from the first quarter of 2010, according to Ikar estimates.

(Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-11/russia-s-refined-sugar-stockpiles-may-be-reduced-22-ikar-says.html)