"We don't know how their delivery system will change or who will take over (for state commodity regulator Bulog). At the moment it is unclear whether the change will be merely superficial or large-scale reform," a trader said.

Instead, this week's Asian sugar market was focused mostly on the situation in Russia and on moves by institutional investors, he said.

"A shaky Latin America, resulting from the Russia situation, could become another market-moving factor next week," he added.

Traders said the market saw moderate gains this week as a few deals for nearby shipment were completed.

September premiums for raw sugar from Thailand were quoted at 110/120 points per lb over Coffee, Cocoa and Sugar Exchange (CCSE) prices, up from 95/115 points last Friday, they said.

As for March/May contracts, premiums changed very little from aweek ago, with quotes well-supported at 65/70 points, they said.

On the Tokyo Grain Exchange (TGE) raw sugar futures were expected to be roughly at the same level next week, in line with New York, another trader said.

"We can't expect the Russians to buy more, so there is no real buying atmosphere in New York at the moment. The gains made earlier this week were on profit-taking by investment funds and Brazilian suppliers," he said.

The Benchmark September contract ended the third afternoon session at 26,690 yen per tonne, against Thursday's close of 27,330 yen.