Global sugar surplus may triple in '07

The world's supply surplus may triple this year as bumper harvests in India and Brazil outstrip demand, the International Sugar Organisation said.

The surplus will rise to at least 6 million tonne in the year through September, from 2 million tons in the corresponding period last year, Sergei Gudoshnikov, senior economist at the organisation in London, said in an interview today.

"The Brazil crop was much higher than expected, while India has also had a fantastic crop,'' Gudoshnikov said. "We are revising our forecast upward.'' The ISO had previously forecast a surplus of 4.85 million metric tonne for the year. It's scheduled to publish an annual forecast on February 14.