* Consumers are eating less sugar at home 鈹� Czarnikow Group

*Pandemic crisis wipes out聽most of projected consumption growth in 2020 鈹�International Sugar Organisation

Isola Moses | 绿帽献妻

As billions of consumers of the staple item are stuck at home for several months as a result of the resulting from the outbreak of the devastating novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, sugar demand growth has reduced recently.

Hitherto, besides health concerns in several economies across the world for ages, governments, doctors and聽celebrity chefs聽have tried but failed to get the world to consume less sugar.

However, the outbreak of the virus is said to have changed all that, according to Czarnikow Group

The global聽closure聽of restaurants, sports arenas and cinemas means sugar demand will drop this season for the first time in four decades, reports Bloomberg.

It was learnt that drink and confectionery sales giants such as聽Coca-Cola Company聽and Nestl茅 SA have fallen, and as numerous economies start to reopen, it is unclear how quickly demand will recover as incomes and employment fall, stated the report.

Ben Seed, an analyst at Czarnikow in London, said: 鈥淐onsumption out of home is normally more than what you would now substitute and have at home.

鈥淚f you go to the cinema you would probably quite happily have a liter or maybe more of soda while you watch the film, whereas we just don鈥檛 think people would drink a whole liter of soda while watching Netflix.鈥�

On reduction in sugar consumption, the group stated that the sugar industry was already under siege before the Coronavirus hit.

Demand growth, which is said to be largely driven by developing countries, slowed in recent years as lawmakers from South Africa to Thailand taxed sugary drinks and health groups urged people to cut back on carbs amid obesity concerns.

Companies responded by selling slimmed-down treats and sugar-free sodas, it said.

However, none of that had as much impact as the lockdowns that slashed out-of-home spending following the outbreak of COVID-19. And now the emerging global recession is hurting the demand outlook going forward.

According to the report, in the first three weeks of April 2020 alone, Coca-Cola鈥檚 volumes聽slid聽about 25%, and the company said the pandemic鈥檚 effect on the second quarter would be significant.

PepsiCo Inc. expects second-quarter revenue to fall and in Germany, a key sugar-consuming nation, a group of confectioners said sales at half of members surveyed fell in the four months through April.

Sugar consumption will slip 1.2% to 169.9 million tonnes this season, according to supply chain services company Czarnikow.

Analysts at the United States (US) Government and Citigroup Inc. also see demand falling this season.

The International Sugar Organisation said the Coronavirus crisis had聽wiped out聽most of 2020鈥檚 projected consumption growth, and bigger losses might follow.

John Stansfield, an analyst at trader Group Sopex, stated that dwindling demand would mean bigger-than-expected sugar surpluses this season and next.

While New York futures recovered since late April amid concerns that supplies out of Brazil may start tightening, they鈥檙e still almost 50% below a 2016 peak.

Even though people may turn to comfort foods like ice cream, that won鈥檛 offset lost consumption, said the report.

For example, London-based ice-cream maker聽Oddono鈥檚 Gelati Italiani Limited鈥檚 sales have been affected by reduced staff and physical distancing.

Christian Oddono, Co-founder of Gelati Italiani Limited, said: 鈥淚f we were able to have five members of staff behind the counter serving as many people as possible at the fastest time, we would probably make 30%-40% more than we make now.

鈥淲ould people queue for an extra half an hour until it鈥檚 their turn? Some would do, some would probably turn around.鈥�

There are still some positives. Lockdown measures are easing around the world and the U.S. Department of Agriculture expects global sugar consumption to rebound 3.6% to a record next season.

Demand growth on continents such as Africa and Asia is said to have outpaced the developed world in recent decades as rising populations and burgeoning middle classes spend more on treats.