Sugar can be produced from either sugarcane or sugar beet. The former is by far the more popular resource, as it is used for approximately three quarters of all production.


There are a number of reasons why sugarcane exceeds sugar beet in production volume, most notably climate and production costs. These factors are to a great extend intertwined. Thailand, China, Brazil and India are major producers of sugarcane due to their favorable tropical climate. This climate provides a significant longer production period when compared to sugar beet. Sugar beet is produced mainly in Europe and the U.S.