Iran’s domestic demand for sugar is 1.9-2.1 million tons annually, of which 1.6 million tons are produced locally, according to Hamidreza Fallah, a local government official in Khuzestan Province, the main producer of sugar in Iran.
“A total of 260,000 tons of sugar were produced in Khuzestan Province during the first nine months of the current Iranian year [March 21-Dec. 21, 2022], of which 31,000 tons were produced from beetroot,” he was quoted as saying by IRIB News.
According to the official, there are nine sugar producing factories in Khuzestan, of which eight extract sugar from sugarcane and one from beetroot.
Two more sugar factories are under construction in Khuzestan, he added.
Noting that about 70% of Iran’s sugar are produced in Khuzestan, Fallah said that with the operation of these two factories, which have a production capacity of 300,000-400,000 tons per year, a large part of the country’s needs will be met.
A total of 6.7 million tons of beetroot were produced in the spring and autumn harvest across the country, according to Peyman Hesadi, an official with the Agriculture Ministry.
From the total production, 5.3 million tons belonged to the spring harvest and 1.4 million tons to the autumn harvest.
The official estimated that 900,000 tons of sugar will be produced from the harvest, Mehr News reported.
He put the area under beet cultivation in spring and autumn at 90,000 and 20,000 hectares respectively.
A total of 3 million tons of sugarcane have been harvested from 87,000 hectares so far this year.
Hesadi says more than 5 million tons of sugarcane will be produced by the end of the harvest season, from which 500,000-550,000 tons of sugar will be extracted.
He estimated that more than 1.4 million tons of sugar will be produced from beetroot and sugarcane this year.
