Sugar consumption is declining in the United States and Western Europe and is stagnating globally as higher taxes on soft drinks and the widening use of weight-loss drugs dampen demand, analysts and industry executives said. The weakening of demand has already led to sugar factory closures in both the US and Europe and helped to drive sugar prices down to around five-year lows, trends that could accelerate as lower prices of weight-loss drugs heighten their popularity across the globe. Sugar consumption in Western Europe has fallen by a total of 6.7% in the last two years and in the United States by 4.4%, according to International Sugar Organisation data. Global sugar consumption is forecast to grow 0.5% in the 2026/27 season, a historically low number but one that is becoming the “new normal,” Eder Vieito, chief executive of analysts Green Pool, told Reuters on the sidelines of the annual Dubai Sugar Conference.
Weight-loss drugs, soft-drink tax curtail sugar consumption
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