Informa's AI sees global sugar surplus in 2018/19

LONDON (Reuters) - Informa's Agribusiness Intelligence said on Tuesday it sees a global sugar surplus of 7.2 million tonnes in 2018/19, down marginally from a surplus of 7.3 million in 2017/18.

"The unexpectedly strong increase in Thailand's and India's sugar production this season has raised the global surplus in 2017/18 significantly above initial expectations," the company which includes sugar analysts F.O. Licht said.

"Current projections point to another massive surplus in 2018/19 which suggests (global) prices will remain under pressure for the near future."

EU sugar prices were also expected to remain low due to a rise in production following the abolition of quotas.

EU production in 2017/18 was seen at 19.5 million tonnes, up 21 percent from the prior season's 16.0 million.

(Reporting by Nigel Hunt; editing by Jason Neely)