Vietnam 2011 sugar imports seen down

Vietnam's sugar imports in 2011 could reach 250,000 tonnes, down 16.7 percent from the import volume expected this year, a state-run newspaper reported on Thursday. The volume included 200,000 tonnes for consumption and 50,000 tonnes reserved for any demand surge, the An Ninh Thu Do (Capital Security) daily quoted General Secretary Ha Huu Phai of the Vietnam Sugar and Sugarcane Association as saying.
The import volume next year would therefore be below the 300,000 tonnes under the import quotas granted for 2010, of which 210,000 tonnes had been delivered by the end of October, figures from an Agriculture Ministry report seen on Thursday showed.
The ministry estimated the 2010/2011 sugar output at 1 million tonnes, from nearly 890,000 tonnes in the previous 2009/2010 crushing season, while demand would reach 1.2 million tonnes next year, the newspaper said. The Southeast Asian nation consumes 80,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes of sugar a month, but demand could jump to 110,000-120,000 tonnes in the several months before Tet, or the Lunar New Year festival in February, and the mid-autumn festival.
The annual demand estimate is below the 1.3-1.4 million tonnes in previous projections released in early October, which had prompted Vietnam to plan an initial import of 300,000 tonnes for 2011. Sugar refineries in the Mekong Delta, one of Vietnam's main sugarcane growing areas, in late September started their five-month crushing season, with shortages of the raw material forecast due to adverse weather and less planting acreage.