China’s commerce ministry has opened a six-month investigation into the country’s rapidly rising sugar imports at the request of local producers, who are still struggling to cope with the end of state-set price floors one year ago.

The Ministry of Commerce investigation will focus on import growth during the period from the start of 2011 through the end of March 2016, according to an announcement on its official site. The Guangxi Sugar Industry Association – which put in the request for an investigation – asserted in its application for investigation that first-quarter imports rose more than 663 per cent during said period, “constituting an attack on domestic producers”.

The call for state support follows four straight years of operating losses for China’s domestic sugar industry, with the latest estimates from the US Department of Agriculture forecasting a drop in annual production of more than 20 per cent for the 2015/16 period to 8.4m metric tons, to be followed by a 2.4 per cent drop in 2016/17 as labour costs rise and profitability continues to plummet.