Now, when the harvesting campaign is nearly over, we can make certain conclusions about the global production of sugar. In mid 2011 the global production reached 165,7M tons, which is 5.8% more than in mid 2010.
According to the Department of Commodity Trading, , preliminary forecasts show that in 2011/2012 the production of sugar may exceed the consumption due to favorable prices. If to take in to account that over the last 12 months sugar has gained in price 62% (according to the World Bank), the current situation is not that bad.
The emerging economies are expected to produce 10% more sugar (128M tons) as compared to 2010. On the other hand, the developed economies are expected to produce only 37.7M tons (a 45 decline).
In 2011/2012 the global consumption of sugar will grow by 1.5% up to 165M tons. The global consumption per capita is expected to stay the same – 24kg a year per capita.
South America. Brazil is planning to produce 30.63M tons of sugar (in 2010 it produced 33.5M tons). It is said that 45% of the sugarcane crop will be refined to make sugar. Columbia is the second major manufacturer in South America. It is expected to make 2.5M tons of sugar. Mexico is also planning to make more sugar in 2011/2012 due to this year’s record sugarcane crop. It will allow Mexico to boost the export of sugar to the USA.
Africa. The total amount of sugar produced in Africa will be roughly equal to 11M tons, which is a 2.5% increase. It became possible to the expansion of cultivation areas and higher refining capacity. However, the further development is hindered by poor infrastructure. South Africa is the continent’s leader in terms of sugar production. It is expected to produce 2.4M tons of sugar. Egypt, Africa’s number 2, is expanding the sown areas of sugar beet while leaving the sown areas of sugarcane unchanged.
Asia. It is expected to produce 60.7M tons of sugar, which is a stunning increase (+15.5%), mainly at the expense of India and Thailand. India’s sown area of sugarcane is equal to 4.8M hectares (+15%).
In China the figures haven’t changed despite a 40% increase in the sown area of sugar beet. The reason is droughts. Therefore, China has become the world’s biggest sugar importer.
Pakistan will produce 3.6M tons of sugar (+8%).
Europe. The production of sugar in the next agricultural year (starts on Oct 1st) may increase by 2.4M tons to reach 17.4M tons (the highest value over the last 5 years). France, the EU’s number 1 in terms of sugar production, is expected to produce 4.6M tons (against last year’s 3.99M tons). Germany will increase its production from 3.39M tons up to 4.18M tons.
