Sugar Semi-Annual Report, China – 5th October 2020

China’s MY20/21 sugar production, unaffected by COVID-19, remains relatively steady at 10.5 million metric tons (MMT). Sugar consumption is forecast to return to pre-COVID levels at 15.8 MMT as the economy recovers from the earlier COVID downturn. Imports are projected to climb higher to 4.4 MMT because of strong end-user demand and the end of the three-year long import safeguard in May 2020. Shortly after the safeguard expired, China instituted an automatic import licensing system to regulate and monitor out-of-quota sugar imports. Meantime, imports of duty-free sugar syrup from Southeast Asia have shot up, reaching an estimated 500,000 MT (raw sugar basis) in MY19/20.