NEW YORK: Global sugar supply deficit in the 2020/21 season likely narrowed, as larger-than-expected sugar output in the United States, Thailand, and Pakistan outweighed the smaller-than-projected production in India, broker StoneX said on Wednesday.

It now expects a global supply deficit of 3.2 million tonnes, 100,000 tonnes smaller than a January forecast.

StoneX cut India’s 2020/21 (Oct-Sept) sugar crop projection to 31 million tonnes from 32.1 million tonnes in January, citing problems in the state of Uttar Pradesh and larger ethanol production which reduced the amount of sucrose being used to produce the sweetener.

The broker raised its Thai production outlook to 7.6 million tonnes from 7.4 million tonnes due to better weather conditions at the end of the season. It also hiked the US production forecast by 200,000 tonnes to 8.5 million tonnes, in line with upgrades made by the US Department of Agriculture.