Ice cream, chocolate... Why is the price of sugar rising? Children's NewsOctober 10 at 12:11
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Nyunyu! Nice to meet you! I'm New Star (10 years old)! I love the news, I'm a hamster!
As a "Children's News" expedition team, we are investigating various things that bother us ~.
The news that bothers me now is that the price is going up again from this month! There are 173 items such as chocolate, ice cream, and gummies.
When I investigated why it went up, I found something surprising~!
The price of raw material sugar is rising!
The reason why the price of Okashi is rising is that the price of Okashi raw materials, such as flour, cacao, milk, etc., has increased.
In addition. Sweet ~ sweet sugar (sugar) is indispensable for funny.
The price of this sugar has also risen from about 2 yen per kilogram two years ago to 1 yen!
I looked up why the price of sugar is going up ~.
Investigation! Why is the price of sugar rising?
First of all, we went to a factory that makes sugar.
Wow~, it's a pile of sugar~!! Ama~uu Looks delicious ~.
Hey, why is the price of sugar going up?
Tomoharu Fukasawa, a major sugar manufacturer,
says, "One of the reasons is that abnormal weather is happening all over the world, such as dry weather that does not rain all the time, and heavy rainfall, so sugar cane, which is the raw material for sugar, is not so much."
Explanation here!
For example, in India and China, which are the main sugarcane producing areas, abnormal weather reduces production by about 3 million tons per year.
Nevertheless, the world's population is increasing, and more people are craving sugar.
That's why sugar has become popular and its price is rising.
Found it! 【1】
The price of sugar is going up...
Although the number of people who want sugar is increasing, the production of sugarcane, which is the raw material, has not caught up due to drought and heavy rain.
There is also a surprising reason for the price increase!
Furthermore, when we investigated the rise in sugar prices, we found a person who knew a surprising reason that was different from the production volume! I came to Osaka to know the secret ~! !!
Professional in the world's sugar information!
We spoke to Professor Yoichiro Tsuji.
Professor Yoichiro Tsuji of St. Andrew's University
: "Hello New Star-kun! In fact, the price of oil and sugar is closely related."
What, oil!?
Why is it completely different from sugar~?
Professor
Tsuji: "Japan imports 6% of the raw materials for sugar, so we use a lot of oil to bring it from overseas."
In fact, a lot of oil is needed to transport the raw material for sugar by ship from overseas.
The price of crude oil, which is the source of oil, has risen by about 2% in the past two years, so the price of sugar has also risen.
But why is the price of oil rising?
Professor
Tsuji: "Now, the coronavirus pandemic has calmed down and many people are traveling, and they use a lot of oil as fuel for their airplanes. That's why so many people around the world want oil."
Found it! 【2】
The second reason why the price of sugar is rising is...
Because the cost of oil on ships carrying raw materials has risen.
In addition, some countries are intentionally reducing the amount of oil produced and selling it at a high price. It seems that the rise in the price of oil is due to some adult circumstances. Adults are hard ~.
More secrets in Brazil!
Professor Tsuji told me what bothered me even more.
Professor
Tsuji: In fact, Brazil, which is the world's largest producer of sugarcane, has started to produce not only sugar but also fuel to replace petroleum.
What do you mean?
In order to get rid of the nazo, I went to Brazil, far away from the Japan, at once ~! Investigate Nyu~!!
I found this device in Brazil.
I wonder if this is a device that turns sugar cane into fuel ~?
Professor
Tsuji: "In Brazil, we use these devices to make 'bioethanol' from sugar cane, which we use as fuel for cars and other vehicles."
Bioethanol is a fuel made by fermenting plants such as sugar cane and corn. It emits less carbon dioxide and is good for the environment.
About 8% of cars use fuel mixed with bioethanol and petroleum.
Great price! Bioethanol is 70 yen cheaper than oil.
That's why the amount of bioethanol produced from sugarcane is increasing in Brazil.
Professor
Tsuji: "When oil rises, people try to produce cheap bioethanol, which reduces sugar production, which raises the price of sugar. That's how it works."
Found it! 【3】
The third reason why the price of sugar is rising is...
Because we are increasing the amount of bioethanol made from sugar cane, the amount of sugar we make is decreasing.
The reason for the increase in sugar prices, I have come to understand various things ~.
According to expert Mr. Tsuji, "If the current situation continues, the price of sugar will rise by about 3%, and it will take about a year and a half for sugar production to stop and the price of sugar to fall."
It seems that there are various other reasons for the increase in sugar prices, so please check it out~! Mannyu~!