Editing Sugar (section)

=== Sugarcane ===

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; clear:left; width:15em;"
|-
! colspan=2|Sugarcane production – 2022
|-
!  style="background:#ddf; width:75%;"| Country
!  style="background:#ddf; width:25%; text-align:center;"| <small>Millions of [[tonne]]s</small>
|-
| {{BRA}} || 724.4
|-
| {{IND}} || 439.4
|-
| {{CHN}} || 103.4
|-
| {{THA}} || 92.1
|-
| '''World''' || '''1,922.1'''
|-
|colspan=2 |<small>Source: [[UN Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]]<ref name="faostat-sc22">{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC|title=Sugar beet production in 2022, Crops/Regions/World list/Production Quantity/Year (pick lists)|date=2024|publisher=UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT)|access-date=10 June 2024}}</ref></small>
|}

Sugar cane accounted for around 21% of the global crop production over the 2000–2021 period. The Americas was the leading region in the production of sugar cane (52% of the world total).<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cc8166en |title=World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2023 |date=2023 |publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]] |isbn=978-92-5-138262-2 |language=English |doi=10.4060/cc8166en}}</ref>
Global production of [[sugarcane]] in 2022 was 1.9&nbsp;billion tonnes, with Brazil producing 38% of the world total and India 23% (table).

Sugarcane is any of several species, or their hybrids, of giant grasses in the genus ''[[Saccharum]]'' in the family [[Poaceae]]. They have been cultivated in tropical climates in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia over centuries for the sucrose found in their stems.<ref name="Moxham2002"/>

[[File:World Production Of Raw Sugar, Main Producers.svg|thumb|left|World production of raw sugar, main producers<ref>{{cite book |title=World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2021 |url=https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb4477en/|access-date=2021-12-13 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |via=www.fao.org |year=2021 |doi=10.4060/cb4477en |isbn=978-92-5-134332-6 |s2cid=240163091 |archive-date=3 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103083611/https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb4477en/ |url-status=live}}</ref>]]

Sugar cane requires a frost-free climate with sufficient rainfall during the growing season to make full use of the plant's substantial growth potential. The crop is harvested mechanically or by hand, chopped into lengths and conveyed rapidly to the [[sugar mill|processing plant]] (commonly known as a [[sugar mill]]) where it is either milled and the juice extracted with water or extracted by diffusion.<ref name="skil2">{{cite web |title=How Cane Sugar is Made – the Basic Story |url=http://www.sucrose.com/lcane.html |publisher=Sugar Knowledge International |access-date=24 September 2018 |archive-date=22 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922144828/http://www.sucrose.com/lcane.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The juice is clarified with [[Calcium hydroxide|lime]] and heated to destroy [[enzyme]]s. The resulting thin syrup is concentrated in a series of evaporators, after which further water is removed. The resulting [[Supersaturation|supersaturated]] solution is seeded with sugar crystals, facilitating crystal formation and drying.<ref name=skil2/> [[Molasses]] is a by-product of the process and the fiber from the stems, known as [[bagasse]],<ref name=skil2/> is burned to provide energy for the sugar extraction process. The crystals of raw sugar have a sticky brown coating and either can be used as they are, can be bleached by [[sulfur dioxide]], or can be treated in a [[carbonatation]] process to produce a whiter product.<ref name=skil2/> About {{convert|2500|L|usgal}} of irrigation water is needed for every {{convert|1|kg|lb|abbr=off|spell=in}} of sugar produced.<ref>{{cite web |first=Kerry |last=Flynn |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/india-drought-2016-may-lead-29-35-drop-sugar-output-2016-17-season-report-2358604 |title=India Drought 2016 May Lead 29–35% Drop In Sugar Output For 2016–17 Season: Report |newspaper=International Business Times |date=23 April 2016 |access-date=27 October 2016 |archive-date=9 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009123021/http://www.ibtimes.com/india-drought-2016-may-lead-29-35-drop-sugar-output-2016-17-season-report-2358604 |url-status=live }}</ref>