Sugar cane production in Australia
Australia: Sugar cane production was 29.86 million tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
29.86 million tonnes
Change on year
down 8.4%
World rank
10th
of 110 countries
All-time high
41.06 million tonnes
in 1998
All-time low
9.73 million tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Sugar cane production in Australia, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Australia recorded 29.86 million tonnes for sugar cane production in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.4% on the previous year and down 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sugar cane production in Australia peaked at 41.06 million tonnes in 1998 and was at its lowest, 9.73 million tonnes, in 1961.
That places Australia 10th out of 110 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Sugar cane production in Australia, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 9.73 million tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 12.94 million tonnes | +33.0% |
| 1963 | 12.31 million tonnes | -4.9% |
| 1964 | 15.31 million tonnes | +24.4% |
| 1965 | 14.38 million tonnes | -6.1% |
| 1966 | 16.95 million tonnes | +17.9% |
| 1967 | 17.03 million tonnes | +0.4% |
| 1968 | 18.71 million tonnes | +9.9% |
| 1969 | 15.78 million tonnes | -15.6% |
| 1970 | 17.64 million tonnes | +11.8% |
| 1971 | 19.39 million tonnes | +9.9% |
| 1972 | 18.93 million tonnes | -2.4% |
| 1973 | 19.28 million tonnes | +1.8% |
| 1974 | 20.42 million tonnes | +5.9% |
| 1975 | 21.96 million tonnes | +7.5% |
| 1976 | 23.34 million tonnes | +6.3% |
| 1977 | 23.49 million tonnes | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 21.46 million tonnes | -8.7% |
| 1979 | 21.15 million tonnes | -1.4% |
| 1980 | 23.98 million tonnes | +13.4% |
| 1981 | 25.09 million tonnes | +4.7% |
| 1982 | 24.82 million tonnes | -1.1% |
| 1983 | 24.19 million tonnes | -2.5% |
| 1984 | 25.45 million tonnes | +5.2% |
| 1985 | 24.40 million tonnes | -4.1% |
| 1986 | 24.74 million tonnes | +1.4% |
| 1987 | 24.83 million tonnes | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 27.15 million tonnes | +9.3% |
| 1989 | 26.94 million tonnes | -0.8% |
| 1990 | 24.37 million tonnes | -9.5% |
| 1991 | 21.37 million tonnes | -12.3% |
| 1992 | 20.64 million tonnes | -3.4% |
| 1993 | 27.96 million tonnes | +35.5% |
| 1994 | 31.31 million tonnes | +12.0% |
| 1995 | 34.94 million tonnes | +11.6% |
| 1996 | 37.44 million tonnes | +7.1% |
| 1997 | 39.94 million tonnes | +6.7% |
| 1998 | 41.06 million tonnes | +2.8% |
| 1999 | 39.70 million tonnes | -3.3% |
| 2000 | 38.16 million tonnes | -3.9% |
| 2001 | 28.12 million tonnes | -26.3% |
| 2002 | 31.42 million tonnes | +11.8% |
| 2003 | 36.99 million tonnes | +17.7% |
| 2004 | 36.99 million tonnes | -0.0% |
| 2005 | 37.82 million tonnes | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 37.13 million tonnes | -1.8% |
| 2007 | 36.40 million tonnes | -2.0% |
| 2008 | 32.62 million tonnes | -10.4% |
| 2009 | 31.46 million tonnes | -3.6% |
| 2010 | 31.23 million tonnes | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 25.18 million tonnes | -19.4% |
| 2012 | 25.96 million tonnes | +3.1% |
| 2013 | 27.14 million tonnes | +4.5% |
| 2014 | 30.52 million tonnes | +12.5% |
| 2015 | 32.38 million tonnes | +6.1% |
| 2016 | 34.40 million tonnes | +6.3% |
| 2017 | 36.56 million tonnes | +6.3% |
| 2018 | 33.51 million tonnes | -8.4% |
| 2019 | 32.42 million tonnes | -3.3% |
| 2020 | 30.28 million tonnes | -6.6% |
| 2021 | 31.13 million tonnes | +2.8% |
| 2022 | 28.67 million tonnes | -7.9% |
| 2023 | 32.59 million tonnes | +13.7% |
| 2024 | 29.86 million tonnes | -8.4% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 29.86 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 63,848 tonnes, 467.6× the median. (19 countries reporting)
- Australia's 29.86 million tonnes is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.33 million tonnes, 22.4× the median. (17 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 14.79 million tonnes | 9.73 million tonnes | 18.71 million tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 20.71 million tonnes | 17.64 million tonnes | 23.49 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 25.16 million tonnes | 23.98 million tonnes | 27.15 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 31.87 million tonnes | 20.64 million tonnes | 41.06 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 34.71 million tonnes | 28.12 million tonnes | 38.16 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 30.93 million tonnes | 25.18 million tonnes | 36.56 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 30.51 million tonnes | 28.67 million tonnes | 32.59 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 7 Indonesia 32.00 million tonnes compare
- 8 Colombia 31.86 million tonnes compare
- 9 United States 31.61 million tonnes compare
- 11 Guatemala 22.91 million tonnes compare
- 12 Philippines 18.69 million tonnes compare
- 13 South Africa 16.74 million tonnes compare
More reference data data for Australia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sugar cane production in Australia?
- Sugar cane production in Australia was 29.86 million tonnes in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest sugar cane production recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 41.06 million tonnes in 1998.
- What is the lowest sugar cane production recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.73 million tonnes in 1961.
- How does Australia rank for sugar cane production?
- Australia ranks 10th out of 110 countries with data for 2024.
- Is sugar cane production rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Sugar cane production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Sugar cane production is measured in tonnes.