India's historic droughts drive up sugar and cotton prices

New Delhi's export curbs and speculative money add to inflationary pressure

20231030N India sugarcane

Laborers stack sugar cane at a market in Kolkata. India produces around 20% of the world's sugar. © Reuters

WATARU HAMANO, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Unusually dry weather in India is threatening the global supply of agricultural commodities including sugar and cotton, raising the specter of prolonged food price inflation.

Benchmark raw-sugar futures in New York jumped to a roughly 12-year high of 28 cents per pound at one point last Wednesday. It was trading at the 26-cent level Monday morning.

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