Sugar prices are soaring as fires and drought ravage fields in Brazil, the world’s top sugar producer, threatening to push up prices of sweets and food.

Raw sugar futures are heading for their biggest weekly gain in 16 years as traders assess the extent of damage to crops from fires and a brutal heat wave.

The state of São Paulo, part of Brazil’s main sugar-growing region in central and southern Brazil, has seen a record number of fires this summer due to a lack of moisture, damaging cane roots.

Wilmar International has cut its sugar production forecast for south-central Brazil, citing a series of “unusual and persistent weather events”. In a post on X, the company said last month’s fires had affected up to 450,000 hectares (1.1 million acres) of cane.

The price of the most-traded raw sugar futures rose 3.8% on the New York Stock Exchange and is on track for a gain of nearly 16% this week, the biggest weekly increase since August 2008.