The Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association predicted that sugar could become more expensive during the remaining months of 2023, Vietnam News reported.

The newspaper cited industry experts as saying that as India and Thailand, two of the largest producers, have lowered their output, the decrease in supply was the main factor behind recent price hikes in Vietnam.

The experts said with just a few months left before the end of 2023, the price of sugar in Vietnam will likely increase due to higher demand, typically seen towards the Lunar New Year holiday. Meanwhile, inventory has been running low for some time, prompting experts to anticipate difficulties on the supplier's side in the domestic market.

They advised sugar producers to capitalize on high prices to strengthen domestic sugarcane production and rely less on imports.

Vietnam's sugar cane price stands at 1.1 million to 1.3 million Vietnamese dong (45 to 53 U.S. dollars) per ton, equivalent to that of other countries in the region.

According to experts, this is one of important motivations for Vietnamese farmers to expand their sugarcane growing areas in the recent crops, the government portal reported.

The country's sugar industry strives to develop 250,000 hectares of sugarcane raw material area by 2025 and 300,000 hectares by 2028.