China had produced 9.3 million tonnes of sugar by the end of May, up from 8.7 million tonnes at the same time last year, a government report said. The 8 percent jump in output comes after farmers planted more cane to benefit from higher prices and as favourable weather boosted yields.
Only one sugar mill in Yunnan is still crushing cane, the report published on the website of the China Merchandise Reserve Management Center added, suggesting the figure was close to the total number for the 2016/17 crop year.
CMRMC manages China's state sugar reserves. Output includes 8.24 million tonnes of cane sugar, up from 7.85 million tonnes last year and 1.05 million tonnes of beet sugar, up from 850,000 tonnes in the prior year. Output still falls far short of demand, estimated at around 15 million tonnes annually. But China has recently imposed hefty penalties on sugar imports, a move likely to further boost planting in the new crop year.