Ecuador: Sugar Annual
Ecuador’s sugar production in marketing year (MY) 2015/16 is estimated at 576,000 metric tons (MT), down 49,000 MT or over seven percent lower than in MY 2014/15. Production in MY 2016/17 is forecast to grow to 600,000 MT, up 24,000 MT or increasing over four percent compared to the MY 2015/16 estimate. We attribute the increase to sugar production returning to more normal levels following abatement of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomena’s weather-disputing effects. We estimate total domestic consumption in MY 2015/16 at 619,000 MT, up 20,000 MT or increasing three percent from MY 2014/15’s level as result of natural population growth. Total domestic consumption in MY 2016/17 is forecast to reach 627,000 MT, up some 8,000 MT or increasingly slightly over one percent from the MY 2015/16 estimate. Sugar exports in MY 2015/16 are estimated at 13,000 MT, largely unchanged from MY 2014/15’s level. Exports in MY 2016/17 are however forecast to grow by 2,000 MT or 15 percent to reach 15,000 MT.
