本文主要論述糖業在臺灣發展中的重要角色。糖成為臺灣的外貿商品，甚至可追 溯到荷蘭人領臺之前，而後經荷蘭人的鼓勵、鄭氏的推動，清代的持續發展，到日治時代因 為引進新式糖廠， 而奠下現代糖業的基礎，臺灣光復後仍持續發展，1950 年糖的外銷曾經 佔臺灣出口總額的 80 ％，今日，臺灣糖業雖因世界糖價的低迷以及市場的縮小而轉趨沒落 ，但糖業對臺灣的經濟與農業發展的確有莫大的影響。糖業生產雖然在清代已具雛形，但臺 灣糖業的規模與特色卻是在日治時代建立的，光復後這些特色經過或多或少的修改後大多仍 因襲下來，包括集中管理的控制、原料採取區域制度、蔗農的角色、保證價格制度、糖分配 制度等，此外，糖業對土地利用以及農業現代化均有深刻的影響。今日雖然糖業已經衰退， 但臺糖公司仍是臺灣單一最大的公司，在經濟結構和政府決策上仍有重大影響力，影響農業 、農民和一般經濟。

　　　　　Sugar industry played an important role in Taiwan's historical development. The growing, processing, and marketing of cane sugar had a profound impact on various elements of the economy and agrarian structure, including land use, agricultural modernization, farm prices and income, and employment. Before the Dutch arrived in Taiwan (1624), sugar was already a principal export item. Through the Dutch and the Cheng periods, sugar industry grew rapidly, by the end of the 17th century sugar export reached 18,000 metric tons a year. In the 19th century, toward the close of the Ch'ing era, western colonial powers sparked a considerable expansion on sugar industry in Taiwan. The basic statistics of sugar industry indicated remarkable growth during the periods of Japanese and Chinese rule. This article treated the Japanese and Chinese eras separately in a traditional historical approach. The essential patterns and characteristics of the sugar industry can be summarized with six aspects: centralized control, the regional system,the role of the farmer, the guaranteed price system, the sugar sharing system and extension activities. This article emphasized that the character of Taiwan's sugar industry, practically in all respects, was established under Japanese rule, not under the Nationalist era which followed.