The rally in raw sugar prices has been exacerbated by diminished forward selling from Brazil, the world’s largest exporter, as some producers there have seen their credit lines for trading severely restricted, traders and local executives said.

Prices of raw sugar in New York rallied this week to a 3-year high of 16.03 cents per pound, up about 35 per cent so far this year, boosted by a crop failure in India, the world’s largest consumer. ICE July sugar was on Thursday flat at 15.40 cents.