China Sugar Output May Lag Demand, Spurring Imports

Sugar production in China may fall short of demand, prompting the country to rely on imports of raw sweetener, the China Business News reported.

Sugar output may rise to 11.3 million metric tons in the year starting Nov. 1, compared with an estimated demand of 13.5 million tons, the report said, citing industry analysts including Xu Zhou at Shanghai East Asia Futures Co. China starts its 2011-2012 crushing season next month, the report said.