Extreme weather conditions are expected to cause an almost 15% decrease in the world’s sugar supply through 2024.
Despite the anticipated reduction, India — one of the world’s five biggest sugar producers as of 2022 — has no plans to increase its exports in September, according to Jena Santoro, senior manager of the global supply chain tracking firm Everstream.
Other major producers, such as Brazil, were not able to accumulate large sugar stockpiles due to delayed harvests caused by excessive rainfall in the region, Santoro said. Also, poor sugar beet harvests hurt Germany, France and Poland in 2023, meaning those countries will have a weakened supply in 2024, she added.
Thailand’s sugar supply will fall by 21% in early 2024 because of severe regional droughts, according to data viewed by FOX Weather.
Meanwhile, North America’s sugar supply is being threatened by below-average production rates coupled with a prolonged drought in Mexico, said Todd Scott, Hershey’s senior communications manager.
"Sugar prices are the subject of conversation, but we are not in a scarcity situation with sugar supply, and we don’t anticipate any disruptions," Scott told FOX Weather August 1. "Similarly, the price of sugar does not have an impact on our Halloween."
Since June 2023, sugar prices have risen by 42% year-on-year with more price increases expected during the second half of 2023 due to ongoing shortages.
