Over 900 global experts discuss sugar industry challenges

 Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

 The 9th edition of the Dubai Sugar Conference 2025 will kick off on Monday in Dubai with the participation of more than 900 experts from 78 countries, which is one of the most prominent global events for the sugar industry since its establishment in 2016.

The conference  from February 10 to 13 will discuss and review developments in the global sugar industry and trade in light of climate challenges and protectionist measures between China and the United States of America.

The conference will host Jamal Al Ghurair, Director of Al Khaleej Sugar Company, the world’s largest independent sugar refinery, and Jacob Robbins of Emeterra, the world’s largest industrial buyer of sugar. The global event will highlight the need to develop flexible visions for dealing with variables, enhancing innovation, employing technologies, launching new products with high returns, adopting new business visions, and catalysts for global change in the industry. The conference will witness the participation of more than 60 speakers who will share their experiences and ideas with the attendees, while discussions will delve into global supply and demand opportunities, and consider key topics such as sugar, health, green products, the use of artificial intelligence, and the production of sustainable aviation fuel from sugar.

This year’s keynote speaker, Diego Herrera, CEO of Pantaleon Group, will focus on innovation and new technologies that are creating a range of new products. I

sara Vongkusolkit, Honorary Chairman of the Mitr Phol Group, will be presented with the Global Sugar Industry Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the sugar industry in Thailand.

The conference sessions will discuss global changes related to the sugar industry and trade, particularly in India, which recently announced 1 million tons of exports, and the possibility of crop declines in Thailand, China and Pakistan, which puts their 2024/25 figures in question, as well as Brazil’s expectations for a high sugarcane percentage in 2024, and will it recover after limited rains? And how will all this affect the large surplus expected of 4 million tons in 2025/26? And how will the unpredictability of the tariff-obsessed US administration affect trade flows and the dollar?

Participants will review Brazil’s position to produce 41-42 million tonnes of sugar in 2025/26, EU producers in 2024 facing rising costs, sharply lower prices and an influx of sugar from Ukraine, beet farmers having a positive year given good returns and prices, India is expected to return to the sugar export game in 2025/26 and Thailand’s official sugarcane production in 2024/25 is estimated to reach around 93 million tonnes.