date:May 13, 2014
expects the area planted to increase to 315,000 hectares. Sugar beet production is expected to decrease slightly to 16.43 MMT due to dry weather conditions. As a result, total sugar production is expected to remain the same at 2.3 MMT. Starch based sugar (SBS) production is expected to increase as a result of the increased quotas. However, the price of corn is expected to increase due to drought, so SBS prices may climb higher than usual.