China's 2016/2017 sugar output at more than 2.3 million tonnes by last December - state planner

By Dominique Patton

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's 2016/17 sugar production had reached more than 2.3 million tonnes by December, the state planner said on Friday, citing data from the China Sugar Association.

The National Development and Reform Commission did not give comparable figures for last year but a major industry website earlier reported a significant increase in output from the country's top producing region of Guangxi.

Guangxi, origin of about two-thirds of the country's sugar cane, had produced 1.35 million tonnes of sugar by the end of December, up 270,000 tonnes, or 25 percent, from last year.

Analysts have forecast a significant jump in China's sugar output this season, which began in November, thanks to more normal rainfall patterns in the southern sugar cane regions compared with last year.

Expanded acreage of sugar beet in northern provinces is also seen helping lift output to around 9.5 million tonnes from 8.7 million tonnes last season.

One of the world's top sugar importers, sales in the 2016/17 season so far have reached 1.2 million tonnes, added the NDRC.

(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Dominique Patton; Editing by Joseph Radford)