Trends in global sugar beet production and sugar consumption levels

Abstract

Relevance. Sugar beet is one of the raw materials from which granulated sugar is produced, and it, in turn, is one of the indicators by which the food security of any country is assessed. In 2020, European countries produced 47.6% of the total global volume of sugar beet, Asian countries — 18.6%, America — 13.3%, the Russian Federation — 13.7%, African countries — 6.7%. At the same time, the share of sugar beet production in global production increased in Asian countries (from 15.9% in 2010 up to 18.6% in 2020), in the Russian Federation (from 10.1 to 13.7%), in African countries (from 4.6 to 6.7%). A decrease in sugar beet production was noted in European countries — from 55.4% in 2010 to 47.6% in 2020, in American countries — from 14 to 13.3%. In the Russian Federation, sugar production per capita generally meets not only rational consumption standards, but also all criteria for food self-sufficiency. The excess of actual consumption over rational consumption in Russia is 62.5%. The lowest sugar beet production volumes are observed in countries such as Greece, Portugal, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, and some others.

Results. The results of the study showed that in order to increase the economic indicators of sugar beet production, Russian commodity producers need to implement a policy of intensification of agricultural production along with updating the material and technical base using modern agricultural technologies and the development of their own breeding and genetic centers.