These days, the world sugar market is experiencing a sharp price increase. This trend continues the price rise that began in April and pushes the market to an 11-year record.
The driving cause for this surge is a global shortage in sugar, resulted mainly from climate situation. The reemergence of El Nino has resulted in unexpected weather patterns in various places, which has a direct influence on productivity. Brazil, a major sugar producer, suffers floods during El Nino events, while in India, another big player in the sugar market, rainfall quantities decrease. Sugar beet growing areas also suffer, as late rains and high temperatures interfere with growth and give rise to plant diseases.
While weather-related issues have serious consequences for sugar supplies from the main producing countries, there is a consensus that proper plant nutrition with high-quality fertilizers can make crops healthier and help them survive extreme climate events. Addition of foliar nutrition to the fertilization plan will boost further the plant's ability to overcome situations where the roots are stressed, such as floods or drought.
The Haifa fertilization program for sugar cane has demonstrated in a large number of field trials that optimal fertilization and the addition of foliar nutrition will improve yield and profitability in sugar cane crops. Good results have been obtained with Haifa fertilization program for sugar beet, too.
Thus, with the help of improved fertilization, growers of sugar crops today have an efficient tool to cope with extreme climatic conditions and boost profit during the present sugar price rising trend.