China sugar output eyes marginal rise in 09/10 season

BEIJING, Nov 2 - China's sugar production in the 2009/2010 crushing season is expected to rise 3 percent from previous season's 12.43 million tonnes, a senior official said over the weekend.

Chai Kaiping, an official with the Commerce Ministry's consuming products branch, said sugar output would stand at 12.8 million to 13 million tonnes in 2009/2010 crushing season.

"We might see a marginal increase in sugar output as the planting area did not change much, but there will still be a shortfall in sugar supply next year, and state reserves could help meet the demand," Chai told a sugar conference.

Sugar production in China's major producing region of Guangxi was expected at a level similar to the previous crushing season, according to Nong Guang, director of the Guangxi Sugar Association.

Liu Hande, director of the Guangdong Sugar Association, said China's total sugar production would fall slightly in the new season. Output in Guangdong might fall 60,000 tonnes to 1 million tonnes in the 2009/2010 season, he said.

The figures represent estimated output at the beginning of the new season, and will be revised as crushing proceeds.

China produced 12.43 million tonnes of sugar in the 2008/2009 crushing season, while total sugar consumption stood at 13.9 million tonnes, up 3 perent from the previous season, according to data released by China Sugar Association.