Sugar Manufacturing Industry Overview

Excerpt from Sugar Manufacturing Report

Companies in this industry produce raw sugar from sugar cane, refine raw cane sugar, and produce refined beet sugar from sugar beets. Major companies include Amalgamated Sugar, American Crystal Sugar, Fanjul Corp, and Imperial Sugar (all based in the US); Cosan and Copersucar (both in Brazil); Nippon Beet Sugar Manufacturing (Japan); Nordzucker and Südzucker (both in Germany); Tereos (France); and Tongaat Hulett (South Africa).

Competitive Landscape

Demand is driven by domestic sugar consumption and government controls on imports and pricing. The profitability of individual companies depends on efficient operations and cost controls. Large companies have economies of scale in production and distribution. Small companies can compete effectively by serving local markets. The industry is highly concentrated: the eight largest companies account for more than 75 percent of industry revenue.

Products, Operations & Technology

The major product of sugar manufacturers is refined sugar (sucrose) for industrial and consumer use. Sugar is produced in various forms, including granulated, powdered, liquid, brown, and molasses. The basic production method is to dissolve sucrose out of those plants that concentrate it naturally in their stem or roots, and then remove impurities and water. Sugar cane and sugar beets are the major plants used. About 55 percent of sugar is from sugar beets, 45 percent from sugar cane, according to the American Sugar Alliance. Sugar cane grows mainly in subtropical and tropical regions, sugar beets in colder climates.