Sugar cane

Sugar cane is a form of tropical grass. It is similar in appearance and structure to bamboo. Within its inner pulp, enclosed by its hardened outer layer, sucrose is stored, to be used by the plant as energy. There are four main species of sugar cane used for commercial exploitation; the Saccharum officinarum, Saccharum spontaneum, Saccarum barberi and Saccharum sinense.http://www.sucrose.com/learn.html

Sucrose levels vary by species and such factors as weather, water and soil conditions, but on average, sugar cane is by weight 10% sucrose. Sugar cane can reach maturity for harvesting in 6 to 24 months. Again, this is dictated by the particular species and the factors mentioned above.http://www.sucrose.com/learn.html

Converting sugar cane into sugar involves several steps. Some regions of the world still use manual labor to perform the brunt of the duties, while other more industrialized nations rely more on mechanization.

The first step in the process is the actual harvesting. This involves chopping the sugar cane stalks down to their stems. This will allow the sugar cane to regrow in the following season for another harvest.

The next step is the extraction of the sucrose from the cane. The sucrose is contained within the moist pulp of the cane, amongst the fibers. This liquid is colloquially called cane juice. Using large roller mills, the cane juice is pressed out of the cane.

Once the juice has been extracted, it is placed in large evaporators. Here the liquid is boiled until enough water has boiled off to produce a thickened syrup.

In the final stage, this thick syrup is placed on large trays or pans. Here the syrup is boiled down further, until it begins to crystallize. Once crystallized, it is placed in a centrifuge to separate the dry crystals from any residual liquid left behind. The crystals are air dried and stored as refined sugar.

Due to the high amounts of water and sunlight required for sugar cane to develop and mature, most worldwide production of sugar cane takes place in regions of the world that are both warm and with high levels of rainfall.http://www.sucrose.com/lcane.html

The top ten sugar cane producing nations in descending order are:

Brazilhttp://www.fao.org/es/ess/top/commodity.html?lang=en&item=156&year=2005

Indiahttp://www.fao.org/es/ess/top/commodity.html?lang=en&item=156&year=2005

Chinahttp://www.fao.org/es/ess/top/commodity.html?lang=en&item=156&year=2005

Thailandhttp://www.fao.org/es/ess/top/commodity.html?lang=en&item=156&year=2005

Pakistanhttp://www.fao.org/es/ess/top/commodity.html?lang=en&item=156&year=2005

Mexicohttp://www.fao.org/es/ess/top/commodity.html?lang=en&item=156&year=2005

Columbiahttp://www.fao.org/es/ess/top/commodity.html?lang=en&item=156&year=2005

Australiahttp://www.fao.org/es/ess/top/commodity.html?lang=en&item=156&year=2005

Philippineshttp://www.fao.org/es/ess/top/commodity.html?lang=en&item=156&year=2005

United Stateshttp://www.fao.org/es/ess/top/commodity.html?lang=en&item=156&year=2005