WORLD MARKET SCENARIO OF SUGAR

World export and import sugar scenario

World sugar production for the 2010/11 marketing year is forecast at 164 million tons, raw value, up 12 million from the revised 2009/10 estimate. Consumption forecast is at a record 158 million tons, up 4 million from a year earlier. Exports forecast are at record 54 million tons, up 3 million; and ending stocks are forecasted at 27 million tons, up 500,000 tons.

 Brazil is the largest producer and exporter of sugar in the World. India is the largest consumer of sugar. Brazil accounts for 23 % of world production, and Asia accounts for 37 %. Brazil accounts for approximately 48 % of World sugar exports with annual exports of 24.3 million tons in 2009/10. Middle East followed by Africa is the largest importers of Sugar.

Sugar or sucrose is a carbohydrate that is derived as an end product of the process called photosynthesis, a process from which plants convert sun’s energy to produce their food. Sugar is used by the plant cells as a source of energy. That is why it naturally occurs in all the fruits and vegetables.

Generally sugar is consumed to add sweet taste to many cuisines and recipes and also for preserving them. It is derived from the major sources of sugar i.e. sugarcane and sugarbeet when the juice of these resources is firstly evaporated and then processed with the help of a process named crystallization. It appears as a white or transparent, crystal shaped substance. The word is taken from the Sanskrit word 'sharkara' which means a sweetener only. 

Sugar is a very important sweetening agent that is widely used and traded throughout the world. It has gained its importance gradually with time and now no cuisines in any culture can consider itself complete without sugar. The main sources from which sugar is extracted are sugarcane (bamboo like grass) and sugarbeet (small tubular plants with white tap root), providing the maximum sugar level than any other crop i.e. 12 to 20% of the dry weight of the plant. Sugar from sugarcane is produced in the warmer regions of the world and sugar from sugarbeet is produced in the cooler areas. The processes of production from these different sources are very much different unlike the final output i.e. refined sugar produced. Sugarcane and sugarbeet contribute in production of sugar in the ratio 3:1 respectively. In fact this ratio is further moving into the direction of dominance of sugarcane in the production process as producing sugar from sugarbeet is relatively expensive.

Sugarcane is produced in around 120 countries of the world and the world’s total production of sugar figures around 135 to 145 million tons. Brazil stands at the top regarding the production level followed by India and the European Union. Over 3/4ths of the total sugar produced is consumed domestically in the countries in which it is produced, and the rest is traded around the globe which is often termed as World Sugar. The consumption figures of sugar in the world in 2002-03 were around 135 million tons and these figures have shown an increasing trend during the last few years.

As most of the sugar producing countries are indulged in self consumption of sugar, the exports of sugar are concentrated among a very few countries. Major sugar exporting countries are: -

• Brazil
• European Union
• Thailand
• Australia
• Cuba
• India
• United states
• China

The world exports of sugar hover around 40 million tons and the leading sugar exporting country is Brazil exporting to around 55% of its total produce. Brazil is followed by European Union, Thailand, Australia and Cuba in this list. These top five exporting countries constitutes almost 65% of the world total exports. Australia’s dependency on its sugar exports is much more higher than that of any country as it exports over 75% of its total sugar production.

Unlike exports, imports of sugar are diversified in nature, among more than 100 countries. The sugar imports account to around 38 million tons. The major importers of sugar in the world are: -

• Russia
• Indonesia
• European Union
• Japan
• USA
• Korea
• Malaysia
• China
• Algeria
• Iran

The leading sugar importing country is Russia with an average of 6 million tons. Indonesia, European Union, Japan, Korea stand on 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place respectively in the context of sugar imports. Being so much of imports taking place throughout the world, there are different sugar import and production policies practiced by different nations to protect their domestic produce from competition. A voluntary body named International Sugar Organization looks upon the trade of world sugar.