Sugar

Summary

A white crystalline carbohydrate used as a sweetener and preservative.

Contents

Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple (in maple syrup), and in many other sources. It forms the main ingredient in much candy.

Fifteen years since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed, trade in sugar and sweeteners between Mexico and the U.S. has finally become quota-free. 2007

Table sugar (sucrose) comes from plant sources. Two important sugar crops predominate: sugarcane and sugar beets, in which sugar can account for 12% to 20% of the plant's dry weight.

Most cane sugar comes from countries with warm climates, such as Brazil, India, China, Thailand, Mexico and Australia, the top sugar-producing countries in the world. Brazil overshadows most countries, with roughly 30 million tonnes of cane sugar produced in 2006, while India produced 21 million, China 11 million, and Thailand and Mexico roughly 5 million each. Viewed by region, Asia predominates in cane sugar production, with large contributions from China, India and Thailand and other countries combining to account for 40% of global production in 2006. South America comes in second place with 32% of global production; Africa and Central America each produce 8% and Australia 5%. The United States, the Caribbean and Europe make up the remainder, with roughly 3% each.

Beet sugar comes from regions with cooler climates: northwest and eastern Europe, northern Japan, plus some areas in the United States (including California). In the northern hemisphere, the beet-growing season ends with the start of harvesting around September. Harvesting and processing continues until March in some cases. The availability of processing plant capacity, and the weather both influence the duration of harvesting and processing - the industry can lay up harvested beet until processed, but frost-damaged beet becomes effectively unprocessable.

1. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.globalization101.org/uploads/Image/News%2520Analyses/sugar.jpg&imgrefurl=http:
2. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en-us&defl=en&q=define:sugar&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar