WASHINGTON, Dec 3: Responding to tightening supplies of sugar, the US Agriculture Department said on Friday it increased the import quota for the sweetener by 450,000 short tons, raw value, for this marketing year.

It allotted 300,000 tons of the increase to raw sugar and 150,000 tons to refined sugar. USDA recognizes that more sugar ... may be needed in this fiscal year to balance the market, USDA said in its announcement late in the day. The 2005/06 marketing year opened on Oct. 1.

USDA said it decided to allow more sugar imports in response to the sugar market situation resulting from hurricane damage to the cane crop and disruption in refinery activities, delays to beet and cane harvesting and various transportation dislocations.—Reuters