Traders estimate the October raw sugar shipment at 1,52 million tonnes.

According to two traders, the initial information on the delivery of raw sugar at the expiration of the October contract, on ICE Exchange, was 30,032 tons or approximately 1.52 million metric tonnes.

Upon confirmation, this would be the fourth largest volume delivered for an October contract expiration. Commodities trader Louis Dreyfus is said to have been the largest sugar deliverer with 10,321 tons, while Chinese trader COFCO International has been viewed as the biggest taker of contracts with 13,977.

ICE will publish official data about the delivery on Tuesday. Analysts and traders usually view large deliveries as negative for the market because it could mean that traders of physical commodities could not get better deals on sugar outside the exchange environment.

The market's reaction to Wednesday's trading looks uncertain. Some market participants expect a higher volume than last October's 33,506 lot number.

The October contract closed at 16.10 cents a pound, up 0.5% from the previous day. This was the fourth session in a row that saw gains. (Reporting and editing by Mark Porter; Marcelo Teixeira)

(source: Reuters)