This archive report was first published on 15 June 2020.
For the first time in four decades, global sugar demand is expected to decline due to the pandemic-induced closure of restaurants, sports arenas, and cinemas.
According to Czarnikow Group, a supply chain services company, sugar consumption will slip 1.2% to 169.9 million tonnes this season.
Ben Seed, an analyst at Czarnikow in London, attributed the decline to the shift in consumer behavior, saying, “Consumption out of home is normally more than what you would now substitute and have at home.”
He further explained, “If you go to the cinema you would probably quite happily have a litre or maybe more of soda while you watch the film, whereas we just don’t think people would drink a whole litre of soda while watching Netflix.”
The sugar industry was already under siege before the coronavirus hit, with demand growth slowing in recent years due to taxation and health concerns.
Companies responded by selling slimmed-down treats and sugar-free sodas, but the lockdowns that slashed out-of-home spending had a more significant impact.
As the emerging global recession hurts the demand outlook, analysts at the US government and Citigroup also see demand falling this season.
However, there are still some positives, with the US Department of Agriculture expecting global sugar consumption to rebound 3.6% to a record next season.
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