Russia: Sugar Annual
FAS/Moscow forecasts Russia’s sugar beet production in MY 2018/19 to decrease by just over 3 percent to 47.1 million metric tons (MMT) due to a decline in yields and smaller sowing area for sugar beets. The continued decline in domestic prices for sugar beets will impact profitability of sugar beets for producers and processors in MY2017/18. Sugar production from beets in MY 2018/19 is forecast at 6.4 MMT, 1.5 percent lower than 2017/18. As with sugar beet production, the decrease is attributable to lower sugar beet yields and production forecasted for MY 2018/19 compared to the unusually high crop and yields of sugar beets in the 2016/17 season. Exports of refined sugar (in raw equivalent) continue to grow and are forecast to reach 690,000 MT in MY2018/19, or a 25 percent increase compared to estimated exports in MY 2017/18. Industry sources contend that the main constraint for increasing exports is the lack of infrastructure in Russian ports and insufficient production of high value sugar which foreign markets demand.
