New Delhi, May 14 -- Higher prices for fertilizer and diesel, key inputs for agriculture, have increased the cost to produce sugar in the main producing countries including Brazil, the chief analyst of consultancy Datagro said on Wednesday.

Plinio Nastari said the cost of production of sugar in Brazil, the top global exporter, is currently the equivalent of a price of 18.63 cents per pound, having gained around two cents per pound in one year. With raw sugar prices in New York trading at around 15.30 cents per pound on Wednesday, no producer of sugar in the world is making money currently, the data showed.

Diesel and fertilizer prices have spiked due to the situation in the Middle East. According to Datagro, Australia is the next most c...