Thai Export Total 100,632 metric tons of raw sugar in January

Thailand, Asia's largest sugar exporter, shipped 100,632 metric tons of raw sugar in January, data provided Monday by the Office of the Cane and Sugar Board showed.

White sugar exports totaled 302,825 tons and refined sugar exports were around 25,440tons, according to data provided by the agency, which is under the Ministry of Industry.

The sugar board didn't provide on-year changes for the data or indicate whether the exports are a combination of both old and new crop.
Industry participants who independently collected export data said raw sugar exports were around 73,000-74,000 tons in the first month of this year.

Thai sugar exports in 2008 totaled 4.88 million tons, data provided by the office to Dow Jones Newswires showed.

Exports to Indonesia last year were at 1.60 million tons, or 33% of total sugar exports, while Japan ranked the second largest buyer, purchasing 893,236 tons.
Nearly 98% of Thai sugar exports last year were sold to Asian countries, according to the data.

Prasert Tapaneeyangkul, secretary-general of the sugar board, said earlier this month that the country's sugar cane production is estimated at 70 million tons for the 2008-09 crop year, which ends Sept. 30, and the ongoing sugar crush is likely to end in mid-April, earlier than usual because of dry weather.

source: marketwatch