Sugar prices reach all time high on ethanol demand
Quicknote bioenergy commodities
Biofuels are really starting to influence commodity prices now that production of green energy is increasing rapidly and globally. Sugar prices climbed to match their all-time high on Thursday as record crude oil prices raised expectations for increased demand for alternative fuels like ethanol. Crude rose to an intraday record of $75.40 a barrel Wednesday after North Korea fired a volley of missile tests.
White sugar has climbed 77 percent in the past year, partly on speculation that higher oil prices will spur Brazil, the world's biggest sugar producer and exporter, to divert more of its harvest to making ethanol.
Farmers in the developing world, who were desperate because of low sugar prices that persisted for years, are beginning to feel the positive effects of the global shift to bioenergy.
"The ethanol link will really start to push prices higher. There is tightness in the domestic market in Brazil for ethanol demand." said Sudakshina Unnikrishnan, an analyst with Barclays Capital in London.
White, or refined, sugar for October delivery climbed as much as $8.40, or 1.7 percent, to $497 a metric ton in London, matching the record it set May 12, according to Liffe exchange data going back to 1989. It later edged back to $489.
Raw sugar futures for October delivery rose 0.14 cent to 17.16 cents a pound on the New York Board of Trade. They earlier rose to 17.25 cents, their highest level since May 15.
Sugar gained 4 percent in London on Wednesday, the most in two months, after India, the world's biggest consumer, banned most exports through March to curb rising domestic prices.
"While the supply and demand of the market is roughly balanced, the prospect of higher oil prices could increase the amount of sugar that is diverted into ethanol production," Sucden, a London-based commodities broker, said in a report.
International Herald Tribune.
Article continues
Biofuels are really starting to influence commodity prices now that production of green energy is increasing rapidly and globally. Sugar prices climbed to match their all-time high on Thursday as record crude oil prices raised expectations for increased demand for alternative fuels like ethanol. Crude rose to an intraday record of $75.40 a barrel Wednesday after North Korea fired a volley of missile tests.
White sugar has climbed 77 percent in the past year, partly on speculation that higher oil prices will spur Brazil, the world's biggest sugar producer and exporter, to divert more of its harvest to making ethanol.
Farmers in the developing world, who were desperate because of low sugar prices that persisted for years, are beginning to feel the positive effects of the global shift to bioenergy.
"The ethanol link will really start to push prices higher. There is tightness in the domestic market in Brazil for ethanol demand." said Sudakshina Unnikrishnan, an analyst with Barclays Capital in London.
White, or refined, sugar for October delivery climbed as much as $8.40, or 1.7 percent, to $497 a metric ton in London, matching the record it set May 12, according to Liffe exchange data going back to 1989. It later edged back to $489.
Raw sugar futures for October delivery rose 0.14 cent to 17.16 cents a pound on the New York Board of Trade. They earlier rose to 17.25 cents, their highest level since May 15.
Sugar gained 4 percent in London on Wednesday, the most in two months, after India, the world's biggest consumer, banned most exports through March to curb rising domestic prices.
"While the supply and demand of the market is roughly balanced, the prospect of higher oil prices could increase the amount of sugar that is diverted into ethanol production," Sucden, a London-based commodities broker, said in a report.
International Herald Tribune.
Article continues
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Vietnam to install 140,000 biogas facilities in 58 cities
VietNamNet reports that the €44.8 million grant, lies within the second phase of a Netherlands-funded project to promote the use of biogas. To this effect, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the second phase of the project was signed in Ha Noi on July 7 between the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat and the Netherlands' International Development Organisation (SNV) representative Andy Wehkamp.
During the first phase, implemented from March 2003 to December 2005, with a total investment capital of 2 million euros, 12,000 biogas facilities were installed in 12 cities and provinces. In the transition period of 2006, the project is being carried out in 24 cities and provinces with an official development assistance (ODA) grant of 1.15 million euros from the Dutch Government.
Minister Phat described the project as the largest of its kind in Vietnam so far, adding that it aimed to help households reduce fuel expenditure, provide bio-compost as a replacement for chemical fertiliser in agricultural production, and reduce production costs.
The project also contributes to environmental protection, ensuring the sustainable development of Vietnam's animal husbandry sector, he added.
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posted by Biopact team at 1:12 PM 0 comments links to this post