Sugar Mills in Brazil's Northeast Step Up Sales Amid Port Backlog in South

Sugar mills in northeastern Brazil are accelerating sales to take advantage of higher prices and a port backlog that is delaying shipments from southern producers. Shipments abroad from the region, which started harvesting this month, are already a month ahead of schedule, Pedro Roberio, head of the Sindacucar-AL industry group in Brazil’s northeastern Alagoas state, said yesterday in an e-mailed response to questions. The Northeast produces 12 percent of the nation’s sugar, the Agriculture Ministry said Sept. 2.
The number of vessels waiting to load at the northeastern ports of Recife and Maceio rose to 17 today, compared with none a year ago, according to Santos Associados and shipping agency Unimar Agenciamentos Maritimos Ltda. The ships are expected to load 349,349 metric tons of sugar.
The mills are stepping up sales as southern ports struggle to ship the sweetener fast enough to keep up with global demand. Coastal rains in the southeastern states of Sao Paulo and Parana have slowed ship loading this year and delayed shipments from Brazil’s Center South, which accounts for 87 percent of output.
A total of 89 ships are waiting to load sugar at Brazil’s two biggest ports -- Santos in Sao Paulo and Paranagua in Parana -- up from 50 vessels a year earlier.
Sugar prices rose 36 percent this month in New York, the best performer of 22 commodities tracked by Bloomberg News.

Source: Bloomberg