Remarks
The Pandemic Sent US Consumers Back to the Sugar Bowl
Americans had been cutting their intake of caloric sweeteners until Covid hit.
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In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, sugar demand plummeted as homebound consumers bought fewer soft drinks and restaurant desserts. Commodities trader Czarnikow Group Ltd. projected the first fall in global sugar consumption in 40 years and a slow recovery.
But then everybody started baking. Global sugar consumption did in fact drop in 2019 and 2020 (sugar markets run on an October-to-September fiscal year) but by less than 0.5%, according to the US Department of Agriculture. And since then sugar has been selling like, well, hotcakes.