The price of raw sugar has increased to its highest level since March 1981, as supply concerns grow.
Raw sugar futures added 3% on Monday, to 21.55 cents a pound.
"The main problem is a deficit in sugar supplies," said Nick Penney, a trader with Sucden, a firm that focuses on sugar trading.
Growing demand in Brazil for sugar to be turned into ethanol, coupled with a sharp fall in Indian production, have both prompted worries, he explained.
Sugar production in India for 2008-09 fell 45% year-on-year, according to a report by Sucden.
And a "drastic fall" is expected for the coming Indian crop, it said.
India had less rain in the monsoon season and it was also uneven, damaging a number of agricultural crops.
There are concerns that the pending sugar crop, which will be ready around November, will be inadequate. - BBC News
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