the sugar market | France

1.1 Presentation and definition of the sugar market

Sugar is a sweet flavor substance extracted from sugar plants .

The beets and the canes The majority of the sugar consumed in the world is produced from sugar, but it is possible to produce sugar in other ways, from coconut or maple trees for example.

The world sugar market is dominated by the Brazil and the India which alone account for a third of sugar production. The European Union is the world's third largest producer.

The world marketplace of sugar was estimated at 186.12 million tonnes in 2019 . For several years now, the sector has been characterised by a crisis of overproduction and a fall in prices s, accentuated in Europe by the quota ban in 2017 which led to an increase in supply and the alignment of European prices with world prices. In addition to the increase in European supply, the market is also suffering from foreign competition, notably from India and Thailand, which subsidise their industries.

France is following the global trend with a continuous decline in prices and sales from sugar manufacturing since 2017. In 2019 the market has thus declined by 14.8% in value .

However, France is the largest producer of beet sugar in the European Union . In France, sugar is produced from beet (in metropolitan France) or cane (West Indies, Reunion Island).

The French market is concentrated and dominated by French sugar groups Cristal Union and Tereos whose respective brands Daddy and Béguin Say are the most widely consumed in France. The company Saint Louis Sucre which was acquired in 2001 by the world's number one German company Südzucker is also very present in France.

The market is benefiting from growth levers, in particular the 'internationalization and the diversification and a strong dynamism in exports, with 2.6 million tonnes of sugar exported in 2019 . Finally, the organic segment and healthier innovations and alternatives are becoming increasingly successful, which market players can build on.