SAO PAULO/NEW YORK: India may be the only country able to fill a looming global supply gap for sugar as the Brazilian crop ends, making the world's sugar market grateful for the Asian country that was once viewed as a threat to the market's stability. "Without India filling this gap, from November to March or April, the global sugar market would have a serious problem," said Paulo Roberto de Souza, the Chief Executive of Alvean Sugar SL, the world's largest sugar trader. Sugar prices are near their highest since early 2017 mainly due to poor production in top grower Brazil following drought and frosts. Souza says sugar prices will have to increase further to attract enough Indian selling to fill the market's gap. He says Indian sugar export parity -- the equivalent to domestic prices -- is currently around 21 cents per pound, already above New York futures.- Reuters
