(Yicai Global) April 11 -- The price of sugar futures in China’s has soared to the highest in six years. Analysts said the spike was due to a production slump in Asia and surging international prices.

Sugar futures closed at CNY6,648 (USD966) a ton on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange yesterday, a 16 percent gain from the beginning of the year and the highest since April 2017.

The sugar price index compiled by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization averaged 127 points in March, an increase of 1.5 percent on the previous month, according to FAO data released on April 7. It was the second consecutive month that the index had climbed, hitting new highs since October 2016.

London Sugar Futures recently reached a 10-year high, and the Intercontinental Exchange’s raw sugar futures soared to the highest in seven years, Cui Jiayue, research consultant at Gelin Dahua Futures, told Yicai Global.

Rising international sugar prices have led to more expensive imports of the sweetener for China, driving up prices, Cui added.

The forecast for supply and demand in the international sugar market was relatively loose at the start of this year, according to Hou Yating, a researcher at Guosen Futures.

India revised its estimate for the country’s sugarcane crushing to 32.5 million tons from 36.5 million tons, Thailand did not achieve its 100 million tons target, and China cut its forecast to less than 9 million tons from 9.5 million tons, Hou added, noting that Brazil, another major producer, is still in the early stage of crushing.

China’s self-sufficiency in sugar is less than 70 percent throughout the year. The country’s output is limited in terms of planting area, yield, cost, and income, Cui said, adding that the economic benefits and production of sugar companies have little room for improvement.

The supply-and-demand gap in China has remained at nearly 6 million tons all year round, with imports needed to supplement that.

Editor: Futura Costaglione