LONDON: European consumers may soon have to pay more for sweet treats as summer heatwaves push up the price of sugar.
Sugar buyers and producers are currently negotiating contracts for the 2023-2024 harvest season, which starts in October.
Prices being cited are over €1,000 (RM5,091) a tonne, said people with knowledge of the matter – more than double what they were in the middle of last year. That’s set to raise costs in the snack aisle.
Last year’s drought-related drop in sugar output offers a glimpse into what might unfold if the same were to happen again.
Sugar production for the current 2022-23 season fell 12% relative to the previous one, and at 14.6 million tonnes, was one million tonnes below initial European Union (EU) estimates.
While large companies – and in turn, consumers – were shielded from big price hikes thanks to long-term contracts, prices in the spot market have surged 58% since last October, squeezing smaller and medium-sized confectioneries.
Warning signs are already flashing: rain delayed this year’s planting by roughly a month, and rising temperatures have since increased the risk of both drought and pests spreading faster and ravaging small sugar beet crops.
Source: The Star
