The price of sugar is down. Way down.
According to the USDA, world prices for raw sugar recently hit a 10-year low. This marks a nearly 20 percent decline since 2017.1 What is happening to drive down the price of sugar? Although overproduction in India contributes significantly to global price volatility, two key facts suggest the low rates are here to stay. First: the demand for sugar has decreased. Sugar growers must produce less sugar or face a future of plunging prices. Second: sugar producers continue to ignore the law of supply and demand and produce sugar at record levels.
Consumers demand less sugar
Looking for evidence? Look no further than the companies who are listening to consumer demands and bailing on producing sugary products. In an article from August of this year, the Wall Street Journal notes these financial trends from some of the major sweet-producing companies:2
- Over the last five years, soda sales in the United States have dropped by $1.2 billion, while sales of sparkling water (typically sugar- and carbohydrate-free) have increased by $1.4 billion.
- Sales of Coke Zero, Coca-Cola’s zero-calorie drink, grew by double digits in the last quarter, while its original–and far more sugary–formula rose by only 3 percent.
- PepsiCo is significantly decreasing the amount of sugar in its drinks in some countries, trying to get the total number of calories down below 100 for a majority of its products.
- In Europe, one of the largest sugar producers created “a food product that amplifies the sweetness of sugar,” allowing them to use 40 percent less sugar without impacting taste.3
- Additionally, this past summer, Gatorade created a sugar-free beverage for the first time in its fifty-year history.
The writing on the wall is clear: the demand for sugar is stagnating or decreasing as many countries seek to combat health-related illnesses resulting from excess sugar consumption. This decrease in demand means that sugar producers must scale back their production if they hope to see prices rise.
Ignoring the obvious
Unfortunately, some sugar-producing countries seem to have missed the memo and continue to produce record amounts of sugar, such as India in the 2017-2018 growing season. Projections for the future look no different–for the growing season of 2018-2019, production in India is expected to top last year’s record.4 In the face of declining demand, sugar-producing countries continue to crank out even more sugar, ensuring that the global price will likely remain at or near record lows for the foreseeable future.
NUTRITIONAL DISCLAIMER
The content on this website should not be taken as medical advice and you should ALWAYS consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. We provide nutritional data for our recipes as a courtesy to our readers. We use Total Keto Diet app software to calculate the nutrition and we remove fiber and sugar alcohols, like erythritol, from the total carbohydrate count to get to the net carb count, as they do not affect your blood glucose levels. You should independently calculate nutritional information on your own and not rely on our data. The website or content herein is not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose or treat any disease. This website shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on the Website or actions you take as a result. Any action you take is strictly at your own risk.
Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD is an aesthetic medicine specialist whose work focuses on patients who are treated for obesity, metabolic syndrome, and other weight-related issues through nutritional analysis, keto diet programs, and supporting medications.
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