Around 70 percent of the world's sugar supply is extracted from sugar cane, according to website of Sugar Knowledge International. This table sugar, also known as sucrose, is a combination of two simple sugar molecules: the simple carbohydrates fructose and glucose. It is stored in the sap of the sugar cane plant.

According to Sugar Knowledge International, sugar cane is a crop belonging to the grass family, and it is typically grown in tropical climates. The sugar cane plant produces sucrose when its leaves conduct the processes of photosynthesis. When the plant takes in carbon dioxide and water, these combine in a chemical reaction that uses the sun's energy. Sucrose and oxygen are the resulting products, and while the oxygen is released from the plant, sucrose is stored in the cane's fluids.