Subsidies and other market interventions have made sugar one of the most tangled food sectors in recent history. Now a new demand for ethanol, human obesity concerns, and the threat of biodiversity loss from sugar farming ensure that sugar will continue to be high demand and often questioned.

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The thought of a sugar plantation typically evokes the image of long green cane growing in tropical and semitropical climates.  Indeed, the majority of sugar comes from this tall perennial grass.  However, sugar is also produced in northern hemisphere temperate climates from beets, although this method is nearly twice as expensive. Brazil, India, the EU and China are the largest sugar producers in the world, although most of this sugar is consumed domestically, with the important exception of Brazil. Brazilian sugar accounts for about 40 percent of global exports which were valued at $US 6 billion in 2005. In the same year, global exports were about 30 percent of total production. Several countries follow Brazil, with less than 10 percent of the export market:  Mauritius, Thailand, Guatemala, Australia and South Africa.

Considerable segments of world trade have taken place under some form of controlled market access or preference scheme. Sugar is one of the most distorted commodities in world trade due to interventions by developed and developing countries alike. Various subsidy and trade policy reforms are under discussion which could have significant impacts on world trading patterns for sugar and the market position and competitiveness of many developing countries.

Looking beyond trade policies, demand for sugar is generally on the rise due to the increasing use of sugar cane (especially in Brazil) for ethanol production, driven by high petroleum prices and the desire to reduce greenhouse gases. Consumption levels in growing developing countries increase the demand for sugar as well. Sugar consumption has been linked with the increasing prevalence of obesity in some countries. However, health authorities repeat that as part of a balanced diet, sugar can be consistent with good health.

While sugar-based ethanol is seen as good for the environment, the environmental challenges posed by sugar production should also be taken into account. The World Wildlife Fund ( WWF ) regards sugarcane as having caused a greater loss of biodiversity than any other single crop. While the greatest amount of land clearance for sugarcane production occurred decades or even centuries ago, the area under cultivation has continued to grow in some areas, especially as a result of the use of sugarcane in biofuel production.  Environmental pressures have come not only from the clearing of forested areas, but also the intensive use of water, fertilizers, and pesticides in sugarcane production. Better management practices are currently being encouraged by organization such as the, WWF , the South African Sugar Association and the Australian Canegrowers Council. On the social side, there has been reported use of child labor in hazardous conditions (harvesting cane with machetes or knives) on sugar plantations, such as in Central America.