Sugar Manufacturing Industry Profile

The US sugar manufacturing industry consists of about 40 companies with combined annual revenue of about $8 billion. Major companies include American Crystal Sugar, Imperial Sugar, Amalgamated Sugar, and Fanjul Corp, owner of Florida Crystals and C&H. The industry is highly concentrated: the eight largest companies account for more than 75 percent of industry revenue.

The industry includes companies that produce raw sugar from sugar cane, companies that refine raw cane sugar, and companies that produce refined beet sugar from sugar beets.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by domestic sugar consumption and government controls on imports and pricing. The profitability of individual companies depends on efficient operations and cost controls. Large companies have economies of scale in production and distribution. Small companies can compete effectively by serving local markets. The industry is capital-intensive: average annual revenue per worker is about $630,000.

Sugar manufacturers compete with makers of lower-cost sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

The major product of sugar manufacturers is refined sugar (sucrose) for industrial and consumer use. Sugar is produced in various forms, including granulated, powdered, liquid, brown, and molasses. The basic production method is to dissolve sucrose out of those plants that concentrate it naturally in their stem or roots, and then remove impurities and water. Sugar cane and sugar beets are the major plants used. About 55 percent of sugar is from sugar beets, 45 percent from sugar cane, according ...