The sugar industry subsumes the production, processing and marketing of sugars (mostly sucrose and fructose). In 2017, worldwide production of table sugar amounted to 185 million tonnes.
Sugar is used for soft drinks, sweetened beverages, convenience foods, fast food, candy, confectionery, baked products, and other sweetened foods. Sugarcane is used in the distillation of rum. Sugarcane produces several valuable byproducts that play a significant role in supporting economic growth. Globally in 2018, around 185 million tonnes of sugar was produced, led by India with 35.9 million tonnes, followed by Brazil and Thailand. There are more than 123 sugar-producing countries, but only 30% of the produce is traded on the international market.
Global players The top 10 sugar-producing companies based on production in 2010:
The global sugar industry has a low market share concentration. The top four sugar producers account for less than 20.0% of the market.
Products Raw sugar Liquid sugar Refined sugar Molasses Sugar alcohol Brown sugar Powdered sugar
Lobbying and marketing
The sugar industry engages in sugar marketing and lobbying, minimizing the adverse health effects of sugar—obesity and tooth decay—and influencing medical research and public health recommendations.
Organizations International Sugar Organization Sugar Association (USA) European Association of Sugar Manufacturers (EU) Sugar Nutrition UK Indian Sugar Mills Association Global Energy Balance Network
Sugar refinement
Table sugar (sucrose) comes from plant sources. Two important sugar crops predominate: sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) and sugar beets (Beta vulgaris), in which sugar can account for 12% to 20% of the plant's dry weight. The plant material is separated to isolate the sucrose-rich portions. Purification of the sucrose exploits the good solubility of sucrose in water. After this aqueous extraction. Sucrose is obtained by successive recrystallizations, producing solid forms suited for the markets. Terminology describing some of these stages includes thick and thin juice, massecuite, magma, mother syrup, etc. In the case of corn syrup, the high fructose corn syrup is obtained by hydrolysis of the starch from corn and wheat. This conversion, the starch is soaked in warm water in the presence of enzymes that break down the starch into a glucose. The resulting syrup is subsequently partially converted to fructose, i.e., high fructose corn syrup and related products. Again, the processing exploits the high solubility of sugars in water. The low prices of glucose syrups produced from wheat and corn (maize) compete with the traditional sugar market.
Environmental effects
Sugarcane is a very water-intensive crop and irrigating sugarcane can contribute to water scarcity.
Sources of sucrose Globally, about 80% of sugar is extracted from sugar cane, grown predominantly in the tropics, and 20% from sugar beet, grown mostly in temperate climate in North America or Europe. Most cane sugar comes from countries with warm climates, because sugarcane does not tolerate frost. Sugar beets, on the other hand, grow only in cooler temperate regions and do not tolerate extreme heat. About 80 percent of sucrose is derived from sugarcane, the rest almost all from sugar beets. In mid-2018, India and Brazil had about the same production of sugar – 34 million tonnes – followed by the European Union, Thailand, and China as the major producers. India, the European Union, and China were the leading domestic consumers of sugar in 2018.
Cane
Since the 6th century BCE, cane sugar producers have crushed the harvested vegetable material from sugarcane to collect and filter the juice. The extract is treated with lime (calcium oxide) and solids are removed. Cooling, the concentrated liquid produce sugar crystals. Centrifuges usually remove the uncrystallized syrup. The producers can then either sell the sugar product for use as is, or process it further to produce lighter grades. The later processing may take place in another factory in another country.
Beet
Beet sugar producers slice the washed beets, then extract the sugar with hot water in a "diffuser". An alkaline solution ("milk of lime" and carbon dioxide from the lime kiln) then serves to precipitate impurities (see carbonatation). After filtration, evaporation concentrates the juice to a content of about 70% solids, and controlled crystallisation extracts the sugar. A centrifuge removes the sugar crystals from the liquid, which gets recycled in the crystalliser stages. When economic constraints prevent the removal of more sugar, the manufacturer discards the remaining liquid, now known as molasses, or sells it on to producers of animal feed. Sieving the resultant white sugar produces different grades for selling.
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