European Union approves export of 7 lakh tonne sugar

LONDON: The European Union issued licenses to export 6,99,999 tonne of sugar in the 2011-12 season started in October, according to the European Commission, the bloc’s regulatory arm. Applications were made to export 1.29 million tonne of the sweetener, according to a notice on the commission’s website on Wednesday.

The limit was 7,00,000 tonne, it said. The European Union’s sugar production will climb to 18 million tonne in 2011-12 from 16 million tonne last season, said Keith Flury, an analyst at Rabobank International in London. “It’s little surprise the application for licenses exceed the 7,00,000 tonne given the size of the EU crop this season,” Peter de Klerk, an analyst at C. Czarnikow Sugar Futures, said.