Sugar mills hike up prices on high production cost

Sugar mills raised sugar prices amid high production costs, sugar traders said.
The domestic sugar prices hit another peak of over K4,450 per viss on 28 March from K4,100 on 1 March, indicating an increase of K350 per viss in the past four weeks.
Meanwhile, the global sugar price has slightly risen to over US$630 per tonne.
The sugar mills notified sugarcane growers that they raised the price of sugarcane to K150,000 per tonne for the 2023-2024 sugarcane season.
The company set the sugarcane floor price at K90,000-K100,000 per tonne last season, 2022-2023 FY. Sugarcane and sugar traders emphasized that the rise in the offering price is aimed at covering the high input cost of the growers amid the rise in sugar prices this year.
Additionally, sugar mills encouraged the growers to ramp up per-acre yield and expand the cultivation acres.
Myanmar’s annual sugar production is estimated at 450,000 tonnes. Myanmar earlier sent sugar to China and Viet Nam beyond self-sufficiency. At present, it is delivered to Viet Nam only, as stated by the Myanmar Sugar and Cane Related Association.
Sugarcane is commonly found in the upper Sagaing Region, followed by northern Shan State. It is also found in the western and eastern Bago Region, Yangon Region and Mandalay Region.
The sugarcane is grown in December-January. It can be harvested from November to February of the following years. The sugarcane growing rotation cycle lasts four years in Myanmar. — NN/EM