Stevia Production Status and Future Prospects in China
Stevia rebaudiana is an important high-value medicinal plant and cash crop,and steviol glycosides rich in its leaves is widely used as a natural sweetener.China has gradually become the country with the largest planting area of stevia,the highest production of steviol glycosides and developed the most advanced processing techniques in the world.The increasing demand for steviol glycosides has strongly promoted the development of stevia planting industry.Taking stevia main planting areas such as Jiangsu,Anhui and Xinjiang as examples,this paper discusses the production status of stevia in China,finds the problems in production,and puts forward prospects for the future.The purpose of this study is to provide a theoretical reference for the sustainable production of stevia in China.