Thailand's Organic Sugar Output Rising

WASHINGTON - Jan 27/06 - SNS - Organic sugar production is slowly increasing in Thailand, with the result exports will likely advance from under 3,000 metric tons (MT) annually to around 10,000 MT in the next couple of year, believes the U.S. agricultural attache for the country.

Thailand is the world's third largest sugar exporter, accounting for about 10% of global sugar exports but there are only a few countries providing organic sugar. Almost all sugar exports are conventional sugar and half raw sugar.

Thailand's conventional sugarcane production reached a record 74 million MT in 2003, producing around 7.3 million MT of sugar, which accounted for about 5% of global centrifugal sugar production. However, sugar production dropped significantly in 2004 due to a severe drought-damaged sugarcane crop.

This year's cane production is expected to decline for the third consecutive year to around 42 million MT in response to continued drier weather conditions. All sugarcane is used for sugar production, amounting to around 4.5 million MT.

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