CIS countries may increase sugar production 3% to 7.4 mln tonnes in 2026 - industry association

MOSCOW. April 9 (Interfax) - Countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) may increase sugar production 3% to 7.4 million tonnes in 2026 from 7.26 million tonnes the previous year, according to a presentation by the Eurasian Sugar Association delivered at the CIS Sugar Market conference in Moscow on Thursday.

"For now, there is calm in the market. There is a slight adjustment in sown areas," the association's executive director Andrei Bodin said at the conference. According to the presentation, areas will shrink to 1.343 million hectares from 1.368 million ha in 2025. "This is, I would say, a statistical quirk: fields vary in size, so it really just reflects changes in crop rotation patterns," he said.

The sowing campaign is going well, with moisture reserves sufficient, he said. But since the industry largely depends on weather conditions, it is too early to talk about final forecasts. Bodin cited last year as an example, when "in June there were ambitious expectations, but, unfortunately, for a number of countries especially Russia, there was an impact from weather conditions. Excessive precipitation led to the fact that, technically, we simply lost part of the raw material. Nevertheless, the sugar produced is enough to fully supply the market of the EAEU [Eurasian Economic Union] and partially supply the CIS countries' market," he said.

According to the presentation, beet sugar production in Russia amounted to 6.213 million tonnes in 2025, which is 332,000 tonnes less than in 2024. Overall, production decreased 4% to 7.154 million tonnes in the CIS from 7.046 million tonnes, respectively.

Imports of white sugar and raw cane sugar into the CIS amounted to 600,000 tonnes in 2025 (150,000 and 450,000 tonnes, respectively). This is 30% less than in 2024. Exports outside the CIS fell 83.3% to 15,000 tonnes.

Imports of raw sugar and white sugar into the CIS could increase to 700,000 tonnes this year, Bodin said.

Among the factors that will influence the situation on the CIS sugar market in 2026, Bodin named not only macroeconomics, but also changes in sugar supply routes to Central Asian countries due to the Middle Eastern conflict. The main importers of white sugar in the CIS are Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, and the main importers of raw cane sugar are Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Armenia.