Sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum) is a perennial grass native to Southeast Asia that has been cultivated for its sweet juice for thousands of years. It is the world’s largest crop by production tonnage and provides roughly 80% of the global sugar supply.
The plant grows as thick, jointed stems (canes) that can reach 3–6 metres tall. Sugar is stored as sucrose in the stem juice, which is extracted and refined into the white sugar used in kitchens and food manufacturing worldwide. Sugar cane is also used to produce ethanol fuel, rum, molasses, and various other products.
Australia is a significant sugar cane producer, with the industry concentrated along the Queensland coast from Bundaberg to Mossman. Australian raw sugar is primarily exported, while refined sugar supplies the domestic market.
How it's produced
Sugar cane is propagated from stem cuttings (called setts or billets) planted in rows in tropical or subtropical fields. The crop takes 12–18 months to mature and can be harvested multiple times from the same root system — a process called ratooning — before replanting is needed.
In Australia, cane is mechanically harvested and transported by rail or road to nearby mills, where the stems are crushed to extract the juice. The juice is clarified, evaporated, and crystallised to produce raw sugar. Raw sugar is then refined at separate facilities to produce white sugar. Bagasse — the crushed fibre left over — is burned to generate electricity, making sugar mills largely energy self-sufficient.
What it costs the planet (per kilo)
* Based on what it takes to produce, from farm to factory gate.
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