Primary raw material for sugar industry is _______.

The correct answer is Sugar cane.

Key Points

• Sugar cane is the primary raw material for the sugar industry.
• Sugar cane is a tropical, perennial grass that forms lateral shoots at the base to produce multiple stems, typically three to four meters high and about five cm in diameter.
• Its composition varies depending upon the climate, soil type, irrigation, fertilizers, insects, disease control, varieties, and the harvest period.

Additional Information

• Sugar cane cultivation requires a tropical or subtropical climate, with a minimum of 60 cm (24 in) of annual moisture.
• It is one of the most efficient photosynthesizers in the plant kingdom. It is a C4 plant, able to convert up to 1% of incident solar energy into biomass.
• In prime growing regions, such as Mauritius, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, India, Guyana, Indonesia, Pakistan, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Australia, Ecuador, Cuba, the Philippines, El Salvador, and Hawaii, sugar cane crops can produce over 15% of the total world's sugar production.
• Other important sugar crops include sugar beet, sweet sorghum, honey, and corn sugar.
• The types of sugar used today are white sugar (fully refined sugar), composed of clear, colorless or crystal fragments; or brown sugar, which is less fully refined and contains a greater amount of treacle residue.