Global overview
Sugar is almost completely extracted from two crops – sugar cane and sugar beet. Some two billion metric tons of sugar cane were produced worldwide in 2020, of which more than 757 million metric tons came from Brazil alone. India, China, Thailand, and Pakistan rounded off the five leading sugar cane producing countries. In comparison, approximately 253 million metric tons of sugar beets were produced worldwide in that year, with Russia and U.S. producing the largest amount.International trade and consumption
In context of international trade, Brazil topped the list of sugar exporting countries in 2021/22 with an export amount greater than 25 million metric tons. During that period, the total sugar exports amounted to approximately 64.3 million metric tons worldwide. On the import side, Indonesia, China, and the United States were ranked as the leading sugar importing countries.For 2021/2022, India had the highest sugar consumption worldwide amounting to approximately 29 million metric tons. The global sugar consumption exceeded 175 million metric tons that period.
