A Production, Trade & Consumption Overview
Both Japan and China are significant producers of beet sugar. As in the United States, beet sugar production in these two Asian nations is complemented by cane sugar. Domestic demand for sweeteners is growing in Japan and China, and — again like the United States — overall sugar use is supplemented by corn sweeteners and artificial sweeteners. Since neither country is self-sufficient in sugar, both are large importers, with each averaging more than one million tons of sugar imports per year.