The outlook for sugar producers in Nicaragua is complex, since they must face a fall in international prices, coupled with rising operating costs at the local level.
According to international reports, from January 2018 to September 2019, the average price of a quintal of sugar has remained below $14, even dropping to $10.46 in August 2018.
The FAO food price index registered an interannual decrease of close to 1%, due to weakening in most markets, as a result of tensions in international trade relations.
From the monthly FAO report:
The FAO Food Price Index* (FFPI) averaged 173.7 points in June 2018, down 2.4 points (1.3 percent) from its level in May, representing the first month-on month decline since the beginning of this year.
The FAO food price index grew by 2.1% compared to December due to a sharp rise in international prices of sugar, cereals and vegetable oils.
From a statement issued by the World Food Organization:
» The FAO Food Price Index* (FFPI) averaged 173.8 points in January 2017, up 3.7 points (2.1 percent) from the revised December value. At this level, the FFPI is at its highest value since February 2015 and as much as 24.5 points (16.4 percent) above its level in the corresponding period last year. The strong rebound in the January value of the FFPI was driven by a surge in international sugar quotations and sharp increases in export prices of cereals as well as vegetable oils. Meat and dairy markets remained more stable.
The FAO Food Price Index continues to show a slow upward trend for the third consecutive month.
From a statement issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization:
The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 151.8 points in April 2016, up 1.1 points (0.7 percent) from March, but almost 10 percent below its April 2015 level. A relatively strong rise in vegetable oil quotations coupled with a more modest gain in international prices of cereals more than offset a decline in dairy and sugar prices. The small increase in April represented a third month of gradual rise in the value of the FFPI.
Behavior of markets and prices in February 2016 of beef, cattle, gold, rice, coffee, sugar, corn and wheat.
From a report by the Central Bank of Nicaragua:
Behavior of markets and prices of major commodities up to February 2016:
Coffee: Coffee futures price in February fell by 0.8 from the previous month, standing at 116.4 cents per pound. Similarly, the price was lower by 25.1% in annual terms.
The FAO Food Price Index averaged 150.2 points in February 2016, nearly unchanged from January, but 14.5% below February 2015.
From a statement issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization:
The FAO Food Price Index* (FFPI) averaged 150.2 points in February 2016, nearly unchanged from January, but 25.6 points (14.5 percent) below February 2015. The most outstanding development last month was a surge in vegetable oil quotations, which, along with a small recovery in meat prices, more than offset declining cereal, sugar and dairy prices.
Subsidies on exports to India and improvement in the competitiveness of Brazilian sugar, caused by devaluation of the real, explain part of the decline in international coffee prices.
The union of sugar producers in Honduras states that the country currently loses between $25 and $40 per hundredweight exported to the international market, on average a total of $40 million.
Sugarcane growers estimate that exports from the 2013/2014 crop will be reduced by 10% due to the negative effects of climate and oversupply in the global market.
In recent months, a decrease in the price of sugar has been more evident, "... a hundredweight went from being quoted at $24 two years ago, to $19 in March 2013 and now to $15 ... therefore producers have lost between 5% and 10% of their income. "