What are the geographical and economic factors that influence the location of the sugar industry, and how do they contribute to the growth of the industry in India and different parts of the world?

The sugar industry is situated in the Global South. Historical example: Cuba was called the Sugar Bowl of World, indicating the concentration of sugar production in specific geographic regions. The industry's location demonstrates the influence of both geographical and economic factors in determining where sugar production concentrates globally.

Geographical factors in sugar industry location include: tropical latitude for sun insolation (exemplified by Cuba), adequate rainfall particularly from southwest branch of monsoon patterns, presence of flood plains such as China's food basket zone and Indo-gangetic plains, alluvial soil for crop growth found in Philippines, and limited variability in regime humidity in semi-tropical zones. Economic factors include: economic scale through large sugar cane plantations in Caribbean, proximity to market (African sugar for European Swiss chocolate market), higher per capita investment as in USA, and location in areas of adequate water availability since sugarcane is a water-intensive crop.

Additional economic factors include availability of labour (exemplified by seasonal migration in India during harvest season) and sugar mill proximity for 24-hour crushing window (Mexico example). Impact of these factors on growth includes: Global South dominating sugar production, India as exporter of surplus sugar in 2022, sugar creating virtual water exports to Western countries, impact on commercial agriculture with shift towards higher-value crops (cooperation in sugarcane in sugarcane-growing regions), and India's Fair Representative Price (FRP) policy and sugar mill policy to protect farmers. Sugar as a major crop with 20,000 crore annual turnover must be integrated with agroclimatic planning and gradual liberalization (Rayanyan Committee) for progressive growth.