China's sugar consumption is expected to reach 2.21 million tons by 2020 and the country may overtake the European Union to become the second-largest sugar user.

Peter Baron, executive director of the International Sugar Organization, made the prediction in Singapore on Wednesday.

India will remain the largest consumer of sugar, using 3.27 million tons annually, he said.

The Ministry of Commerce announced on Wednesday that the sugar import tariff quota in 2013 will remain unchanged from this year at 1,945,000 tons, 70 percent of which is State-owned enterprises' trade quotas.

The National Bureau of Statistics show that China's sugar imports reached 2,425,800 tons from January to August, a 102 percent year-on-year increase, and sugar exports reached 33,518 tons in the same period, a 23.87 percent year-on-year decrease.

China Daily-Agencies