Delays in getting new sugar crops online will leave sugar supplies "tight" over the next year, FO Licht has said, helping a rebound in London and New York prices.

The rally which has driven London's white sugar market up 80% this year came "too late to trigger plantings that will be ready in 2009-10", the German analysis group said in its first forecasts for the newly-started marketing year.

"As sugarcane needs 12 to 18 months to mature, the cane that has been planted in response to this year's price surge will only be ready for harvesting for the 2010-11 crush."

The company added that tight credit had also held back expansion prospects.

'Tight' market 

The result will be a continued market squeeze, FO Licht said, forecasting a rise of 6.9m tonnes to 156.9m tonnes in global production next year.

"As the market can therefore be expected to remain tight in 2009-10 - and possibly extremely tight at times - importers will need to secure supplies that will carry them over to the 2010-11 season when relief can be expected," FO Licht said.

Even in Brazil and India, the world's two biggest sugar producers, whose harvest setbacks have been behind the surge in prices, output increases would be limited to 2.2m tonnes and 1.6m tonnes respectively.

Prices rise

The report helped London's December white sugar contract, which jumped more than 5% on Tuesday on fund buying, add a further $3.10 to $580.30 a tonne in late trade.

New York raw sugar for March, which also added 5% in the last session, was 0.05 cents higher at 22.82 cents a pound.