Extreme weather caused by climate crisis has pushed the price of sugar to its highest level since 2011.
The price of sugar has been marching higher in recent weeks as concerns build around underproduction in India, where an extreme drought is threatening sugar cane crops.
Thailand’s sugar cane crop is also dwindling due to a severe drought. India and Thailand are the two largest exporters of sugar in the world after Brazil.
Commodities analysts are blaming climate change for hurting the global sugar crop, noting that 2023 was the hottest year on record and it has led to drought conditions around the world, impacting sugar cane yields and prices for items such as candy and chocolate.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, American consumers saw prices for sugar and sweets rise by 8.9% in 2023. The government agency forecasts another 5.6% increase this year.
Sugar prices have also been pushed higher by export limits that are being imposed by sugar-producing nations seeking to maintain their own stocks of the commodity, and by shipping bottlenecks in Brazil.
The current price shock being experienced with sugar is one of many involving agriculture crops and food prices.
The European Central Bank said recently that worldwide food inflation could rise as much as 3% a year between now and 2030 due to the impacts of a warming planet.
The price of sugar is currently trading at $23.62 U.S. per pound, up 14% so far in 2024. The all-time high for sugar was reached back in November 1974 when it traded at $65.20 U.S. a pound.
