Sugar
Overview
An estimated 100 million people are involved in sugar cane production globally. While sugar is produced both from sugar beets and cane, more than 80 percent of global sugar comes from tropical sugar cane. Brazil, India and China are the top producing countries for sugar.
Global sugar cane supply chains consist of farmers, mills, processors, manufacturers, retailers and end consumers.
Small-scale farmers produce roughly 40 percent of the world’s sugar cane. Despite growing demand for the commodity, producers often face low market prices coupled with the increasing effects of climate change. Small-scale producers usually have limited negotiating power as compared to large multinational companies. Fairtrade works with small-scale sugar cane producers in Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa.
The salient issues in the sugar sector are (in the order of saliency):
- Living Income, Living Wage
In many regions, the incomes producers earn from sugar cane production are insufficient to sustain them. On top of this, producers face the negative effects of climate change and increasing production costs.
- Water & Biodiversity
Intensive use of water and agrochemicals in monocultural sugar cane production threatens the surrounding natural resources. It is also common to burn sugar cane fields which reduces biodiversity levels.
- Health
Working in sugar cane fields is often harsh. It involves arduous physical labour over long hours – as many as 12 hours per day, typically without protective gear, and directly exposed to the heat and the sun.
- Child Protection & Child Rights
The use of child labour in sugar cane production has been documented in multiple countries across Africa, Latin America and Asia. Children can be exposed to hazardous forms of labour while working.
- Non-discrimination
Minority workers can face more discrimination in sugar cane production compared to other groups of producers. This affects, for example, women and girls, migrants, indigenous peoples and other ethnic groups.
- Forced Labour
Debt dependence is one of the causes of forced labour that has been detected in global sugar cane production. Low incomes and increasing production costs add to the challenge.
- More information on risks in sugar
Root causes
Asymmetrical power relations, global competition: Global sugar cane value chains are generally competitive despite volatile market prices. They are influenced by government agreements and sugar subsidies, and by large multinational companies which hold significant bargaining power relative to small-scale producers. The result, though, is generally low prices and multifaceted poverty for producers.
Climate change: Rising temperatures, droughts, floods, soil degradation, and unpredictable rain patterns threaten global sugar cane production. Reported crop losses due to climate change-related effects are expected to worsen across sugar cane producing countries. Intensive use of water and agrochemicals puts further pressure on fragile natural resources. For farmers, the consequent challenges translate into smaller harvests and higher costs.
Background data on sugar (*Global Volume / **Fairtrade Volume)
Largest producer countries*
- Brazil (44%)
- India (27%)
- China (6%)
- Thailand (6%)
- Pakistan (5%)
- Others (12%)
Data from 2022. Source: FAO, 2024.
Dominant production model*
Roughly 60 million small-scale farmers account for 40 % of sugar's global production. ILO 2017.
Fairtrade certified producer organisations**
Data from 2022. Updated in March 2024.
Fairtrade certifiable production**
metric tonnes, 2022. Updated in March 2024.
Farmers in Fairtrade organisations**
Data from 2022. Updated in March 2024.
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