Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysia may be seeking to import 800,000 metric tons of raw sugar annually over the next three years, according to Newedge Group, the biggest U.S. sugar- futures broker.

Cash brokers say that Malaysia is bidding at below-market prices for the supply, Michael McDougall, a senior vice resident at New York-based Newedge, said today in a telephone interview. The bids couldn’t be immediately confirmed.

“Two years ago, when they negotiated this contract, it was 600,000 tons, and it did cause a brief blip in the market,” McDougall said in an e-mailed report. “The bids they have put out are far away from realistic selling prices, but they have at least put a temporary floor to the market.”

Raw sugar for March delivery climbed 3.8 percent to close at 27.93 cents a pound at 2 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York, after touching 28.05, the highest for a most-actively traded contract since Sept. 16. The commodity rallied 11 percent this week, the biggest gain in two months.

Newedge Group is co-owned by French banks Societe Generale and Credit Agricole.

--Editors: Steve Stroth, Daniel Enoch

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To contact the reporter on this story: Marvin G. Perez in New York at mperez71@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net -0- Oct/14/2011 17:35 GMT