Louis Dreyfus expects waiting times of at least 30 days to load sugar in Brazil due to congestion in ports and sees potential for sugar prices to go even higher if the weather phenomenon El Nino hurts production. Dreyfus head of sugar Enrico Biancheri said in a presentation at New York Sugar Week that the recent price spike in sugar is justified since farmers around the world need that signal to increase production and prevent large supply deficits in the years to come. Biancheri said Brazil will ship 20% more agricultural commodities this season after record or near-record crop of soybeans, sugar, and corn, and ports will be stressed. “If you have a ship arriving in Brazil now to load sugar, you can expect it will be there until early June,” he said.
Sources: Reuters/Nova Cana (*Translated by ia Niani)