The price of raw sugar has increased to its highest level since 1981, as supply concerns grow.

因供求关系变化，粗糖的价格自1981年以来达到最高水平。

Raw sugar futures¹ added 3% on Monday, to finish the day at 22 cents a pound.

"The main problem is a deficit²（赤字，不足） in sugar supplies," said Nick Penney, a trader with Sucden Financial, a firm that focuses on sugar trading.

Growing demand in Brazil for sugar to be turned into ethanol（乙醇）, coupled with a sharp fall in Indian production, have both prompted worries, he explained.

Sugar production in India for 2008-09 fell 45% year-on-year, according to a report by Sucden.

And a "drastic（激烈的，猛烈的） fall" is expected for the coming Indian crop, it said.

India had less rain in the monsoon³ season（季风季节） and it was also uneven⁴（不平顺的，不均匀的）, damaging a number of agricultural crops.

There are concerns that the pending⁵ sugar crop, which will be ready around November, will be inadequate⁶.

"This [sugar market] train is running express," said Alex Oliveira, senior sugar analyst⁷ for Newedge USA in New York.

"It's feeding on itself."