World sugar prices ​rallied on ⁠Monday on fears the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, which is ‌disrupting global energy supplies, will prompt Brazilian cane mills to produce more ethanol and less ​sugar.

Ethanol is a cane-based biofuel. If mills in top sugar grower Brazil use ​more cane ​to produce the fuel, they will have less of the raw material to produce sugar, a food staple and cheap source ⁠of calories for developing countries.

At1215 GMT, raw sugar price futures on the ICE exchange were up 1% at 14.23 cents per lb, having earlier gained nearly 3%, while white sugar futures rose 2.1% ​to $416.30 a metric ‌ton, having ⁠earlier gained more ⁠than 3%.

World oil and natural gas prices are surging as the Iran conflict ​forces shutdowns of oil and gas facilities ‌across the Middle East and disrupts shipping ⁠in the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

The sugar market fears Brazil's state-run oil firm Petrobas will at some point increase domestic gasoline prices as a consequence, said a veteran sugar industry consultant.

He added there are also fears the conflict might impact the ability of sugar refineries in the Gulf to produce white or processed sugar, by limiting their ability to import raw sugar or by making imports ‌more costly.

If the war drags on however, it would ⁠threaten global growth and boost inflation, which could ​in turn cap sugar price gains by hurting demand for the sweetener.

In other soft commodities, London cocoa rose 1.8% to 2,094 pounds per ​ton, after ‌closing down 10% last week; New York cocoa rose ⁠2.7% to $2,967/t; arabica coffee slipped ​0.3% to $2.7995 per lb while robusta coffee rose 2.5% to $3,713/t.