China faces sugar deficit

China is a sugar-deficient country, as its production has shown a downward trend since the peak reached in 2007/08, with 14.84 million tons. Meanwhile, sugar consumption has increased due to population and economic growth, reaching almost 16 million tons annually. As a result, China needs to import sugar each year, and the amount imported is partially influenced by its domestic production level. The last sugar mill in Yunnan province closed, marking an unfavorable 2022/23 season with production below 9 million tonnes, something that has happened only three times in the past 20 years. The deficit in domestic production was 6.5 million tons. For the 2023/24 harvest, a production of 9.6 million tons is expected, an increase of 0.6 million compared to the previous harvest. Sugar production in Guangxi dropped in 2022/23 due to three consecutive years of drought, resulting in a reduction of 840,000 tonnes. For the 2023/24 season, the sugarcane area in Guangxi will remain the same, but a ...