Products such as confectionery, biscuits and juice products are experiencing double-digit growth in China and this consumer demand fuels an increase in the country’s sugar imports, according to a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report. According to this report China's sugar imports, traditionally around the one million tonnes mark, are forecast to rise to 1. 5 million tonnes in 2010-11.

China’s economy has grown fast in the last few decades, and the food and drink sector has seen a boom in output – with 150 per cent growth between 2004 and 2008. Especially in the urban hubs where many have more disposable incomes, there has been a general shift in shopping habits towards Western style foods bought in grocery stores rather than markets.

Domestic sugar output was hit by drought in cane areas in the current season but prospects look better for next year with the cane producing areas experiencing heavy rainfalls, said the USDA.

A report from Leatherhead Food Research, Global Players in the Confectionery Industry, published last autumn forecasts that growth in global chocolate sales will in the main be generated by the developing world in places such as Africa and the Middle East, and particularly in China and India.

source: confectionerynews.com