The major countries and regions producing raw sugar include Brazil, the European Union, India, China, Thailand, Australia, Cuba, South Africa, and others. In the 1998/99 marketing year, global raw sugar production reached a record high of 131.62 million tons, and production for the 1999/00 marketing year is projected to be 131.30 million tons.

　　The world’s major sugar trading markets include the U.S. Coffee, Sugar, and Cocoa Exchange (CSCE), the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (Liffe) in the UK, and the Tokyo Sugar Exchange in Japan.

　　In recent years, China's sugar production has been on an upward trend. In the 1994/1995 season, production stood at 5.41 million tons; in the 1995/1996 season, it rose to 6.25 million tons; in the 1996/1997 season, it reached 6.80 million tons; and in the 1997/1998 season, it surged to 8.16 million tons. In the 1998/1999 season, production continued to increase, reaching 8.83 million tons. It is expected that production will decline somewhat in the 1999/2000 season.

　　The main sugar-producing regions in China are concentrated in the provinces and autonomous regions of Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan, Hainan, Fujian, Heilongjiang, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia. Sugarcane sugar is produced in the southern regions, while beet sugar is produced in the northern regions; sugarcane sugar accounts for more than 80% of the nation’s total sugar production. Guangxi has ranked first nationwide in sugarcane sugar production for five consecutive years, with a production volume of 3.82 million tons in the 1998/1999 fiscal year.

　　Due to the rapid development of sugar-consuming industries in China—including the food, beverage, and catering sectors—sugar consumption has surged in recent years. Total societal consumption has risen from 3.8 million tons in 1980 to over 8 million tons in 1999. Per capita sugar intake now stands at 6.7 kilograms, though this figure still represents only about one-third of the per capita sugar consumption in developed countries. According to experts, as China’s population continues to grow and living standards improve, sugar consumption in China is expected to increase further.