Sugar stocks in Brazil on December 31 were 11% lower year on year at 8.1 million mt, agriculture ministry (MAPA) data showed.
The 2015-16 sugarcane season in the key Center-South region began April 1 and the majority of the mills are now in the inter-crop season, while in the North-Northeast the 2015-16 season started in September and should last until February.
Crystal sugar with color up to 180 totaled 3.04 million mt, down 16% year on year, while crystal sugar with color from 181-300 came in at 175,000 mt, down 8%. The lower the color figure, the whiter the sugar.
Stocks of raw sugar known as VHP -- very high polarization -- totaled 4.54 million mt, down 8%.
The remaining sugar -- raw demerara, refined amorfo and granulated, organic and liquid -- totaled nearly 336,000 mt, also down 8%.
In the Center-South, the accumulated sugar production at the end of December was 30.56 million mt, down 4.35% year on year, data from the Industry Association UNICA showed.
In the North-Northeast, sugar output totaled 1.92 million mt, 0.9% lower, according to MAPA.
Brazilian sugar exports in 2015 totaled 24.01 million mt, down 0.5% from 2014. The average price in 2015 was $318.23/mt FOB, down from $392.06/mt in 2014, MAPA data showed.
The record average price was in 2011 at $589.20/mt FOB.
