New York: Sugar consumption in China, the world’s second-largest consumer after India dwindelled to be the lowest in the last 9 years in 2022 due to to COVID-19, analyst Czarnikow said in a report on Wednesday.
China is likely to consume less than 15 million tonnes of sugar this year because of severe restrictions on the movement of people in large cities due to the pandemic which has reduced the sale of candy, cakes and sweetened beverages, said Czarnikow.
The lowest sugar consumption in China was in 2013 when it used less than 15 million tonnes of sugar, said the report.
The local producers have higher sugar stocks as the sale of the commodity fell.
The imports of raw sugar by refineries in China have fallen to the lowest level since 2019 and are projected to be at 4.47 million tonnes in 2022. The imports are likely to lower further in 2023 at 4 million tonnes as the stocks remain high, predicts Czarnikow.
