SAN FRANCISCO, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Global sugar substitutes market is expected to hit 19.1 billion U.S. dollars by 2024, growing at an average rate of 4.2 percent during the forecast period, an American market research firm said Thursday.

The anticipated growth will mainly be driven by increasing public awareness and rising consumer inclination towards low-calorie food and beverages, especially in developing countries, said the San Francisco-based Grand View Research, Inc., a leading U.S. market research and consulting company.

Sugar substitutes are primarily used in the form of sorbitol, tagatose, and aspartame saccharine in the healthcare, cosmetics, and food and beverage industry, it said.

The food sector is expected to achieve the fastest growth over the next six years thanks to growing public awareness and changing consumer patterns for low-calorie food products.

In terms of revenue, the high intensity sweeteners segment is anticipated to maintain its dominance and reach 8.7 billion dollars by 2024.

Meanwhile, the low intensity sweeteners sector is projected to expand at an average of 5.1 percent over the forecast period. The beverages application sector dominated the market with a share of 43.5 percent in 2015, said the research company.

The North America sugar substitutes market is expected to exceed 6.89 million tons by 2024.

In Asia Pacific, there will be a remarkable growth rate of 7 percent over the forecast period, with the key markets to be dominated by China, India, Japan, and South Korea.

Rising prevalence of health problems related to sugar consumption in emerging economies is stimulating the growth of the overall market, said the market research firm.