Sugar imports in China fell sharply in the first ten months of 2003.
Imports fell by 40% between January and October from a year earlier as processors turned instead to local product. The world’s third-largest sugar producer behind Brazil and India, China imported 686,000 metric tons of sugar in the period under review. Most of the imported sugar was raw grades for refining into white sugar, the Business Daily Update confirmed.
Higher domestic consumption, meanwhile, caused exports to fall by 70%.