Japan has revised up its sugar import estimate for the year to September 2011 from three months ago as local sugar beet output fell more than expected, an official at the Ministry of Agriculture said on Friday. Japan now estimates sugar imports for the current sugar year at 1.372 million tonnes on a refined basis, up 10.3 percent from a year earlier, the ministry's quarterly report showed.
In September, sugar imports in 2010/2011 were estimated at 1.265 million tonnes. If annual imports were at 1.372 million tonnes, that would be the highest level since 2007/2008. But the estimate for domestic demand in 2010/11 is subject to revision depending on actual consumption, the official said. It currently stands at 2.096 million tonnes. Major foreign sugar suppliers to Japan are Thailand, Australia and South Africa.
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