US sugar futures eased to around 15.6 US cents per pound, retreating from recent five‑month highs near 15.9 US cents, as higher output from top producer Brazil weighed on prices. On March 27, industry group Unica reported that cumulative 2025–26 Center-South sugar production, from October through mid-March, rose 0.7% year on year to 40.25 million metric tons (MMT). Mills also increased the share of cane allocated to sugar to 50.61%, up from 48.08% in the same period a year earlier.
In recent days, the market has been highly sensitive to movements in crude oil prices amid the Middle East crisis and shifting expectations about how Brazilian mills will allocate production in the next crush. Consultancy Safras & Mercado projects that Brazil’s total sugar output could decline to 40.3 million tons in the 2026/27 season, which begins in April, from 43.5 million tons in the previous cycle, as mills divert more sugarcane to ethanol production in response to elevated oil prices.
