Sugar Production & Consumption
World sugar production is forecast at 184.9 million tonnes (raw value) in the 2026/27 marketing year, with Brazil and India alone supplying more than 40% of output. About 80% of the world's sugar comes from cane and 20% from beet, while per-capita intake ranges from roughly 10 kg a year in India to over 30 kg in the EU and United States. These charts draw on USDA, FAO and ISO data.
Key Sugar Insights
Brazil and India dominate
Brazil (42.5M tonnes) and India (33.6M tonnes) together account for over 40% of the world's 184.9M-tonne forecast for 2026/27, with the EU, China and Thailand the next-largest producers.
Brazil rules the export trade
Brazil is forecast to ship 33.6M tonnes in 2026/27, more than half of the 62.3M tonnes of world exports, far ahead of Thailand, Australia and India.
Cane vs beet is 80/20
Roughly 80% of world sugar is produced from tropical sugarcane and about 20% from temperate-climate sugar beet, grown mainly in the EU, Russia and the United States.
Intake far exceeds health guidance
The WHO advises keeping free sugars under 10% of energy (ideally 5%, about 25g a day), yet per-capita sugar use exceeds 30 kg a year in the EU and United States.
Top Sugar Producers, 2026/27
Forecast sugar production by country for the 2026/27 marketing year, in million tonnes raw value.
Key Finding: Brazil leads at 42.5M tonnes, followed by India at 33.6M; the two supply over 40% of world output.
World Sugar Production & Consumption Trend
Global centrifugal sugar production and human consumption by marketing year, million tonnes raw value.
Key Finding: Output rose to a record 186.1M tonnes in 2025/26 before easing to 184.9M in 2026/27, while consumption climbed to about 180M.
Top Sugar Exporters, 2026/27
Forecast sugar exports by country for the 2026/27 marketing year, in million tonnes raw value.
Key Finding: Brazil's 33.6M tonnes dwarf all rivals, making up more than half of the 62.3M tonnes of world exports.
Per-Capita Sugar Consumption by Country
Estimated sugar consumption per person per year, in kilograms, for selected countries against the world average.
Key Finding: The EU (~32 kg) and United States (~31 kg) consume roughly three times as much sugar per person as India (~10 kg).
Cane vs Beet Share of World Sugar
Approximate share of global sugar production derived from sugarcane versus sugar beet.
Key Finding: About 80% of world sugar comes from tropical cane and 20% from temperate-climate beet.
Understanding Sugar Data
Raw value vs refined
Sugar volumes here are reported in raw value (tonnes, raw value), the convention USDA uses so cane and beet sugar can be compared on one basis. Refined (white) sugar weighs less than the raw sugar it is made from, so figures quoted in refined or white value run a few percent lower. Always check which value a source uses before comparing totals.
Marketing years
Sugar statistics follow a marketing year, not a calendar year, and the start month differs by country to match local harvests. USDA aggregates these into a single global figure labelled, for example, 2026/27. Production, consumption and trade in the charts are USDA's May 2026 forecasts for 2026/27 unless a series is shown over time.
Cane vs beet
Roughly 80% of world sugar comes from sugarcane, a tropical crop grown in Brazil, India and Thailand, and about 20% from sugar beet, a temperate crop concentrated in the EU, Russia and the United States. Both yield chemically identical sucrose, so refined cane and beet sugar are interchangeable in trade and consumption data.
Consumption-data caveats
Per-capita figures mix sources and methods: some count disappearance (production plus imports minus exports and stocks) rather than what people actually eat, and definitions of free, added and total sugars differ. Country values here are FAO/OECD-FAO-based estimates and should be read as approximate. The WHO free-sugar guidance covers sugars added to food plus those in honey, syrups and juice, not the lactose or fructose naturally present in milk and whole fruit.