Why is sugarcane important in Minecraft?

Minecraft has a variety of plants that players can harvest to their advantage, including sugarcane. Sugarcane can be seen growing naturally on the edge of any body of water like rivers, lakes, seas and more. On the surface, many new players may not see any value in the plant, however, it has a few key uses in the game.

The plant might not offer any food products to players, but many other items can be made with the help of sugarcane.

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Reasons why sugarcane is important in Minecraft

Paper for trading and books

Paper and books trading with Librarian (Image via u/RedArr0w45 Reddit)

Sugarcane plants can be chopped and crafted into paper. This paper has many uses in the game, one of them being trading. Librarian villagers trade paper for emeralds, which can be seen as a cheap way to get emeralds in the game.

Paper can also be used to make books by crafting them with leather. These books can be either traded with a Librarian villager or be converted into a bookshelf which can be used with an enchanting table.

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Underwater paths

Underwater air pocket with sugarcane (Image via u/fuzzywuzzywuzabear Reddit)

Since sugarcane can displace water, it can be used to make a unique underwater path. An underwater path creates an air pocket, which can be used by players to breathe and walk underwater.

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Sugar

Sugar used to make cake (Image via Minecraft)

Sugarcane plants can be crafted into sugar. Sugar can then be used to make other items like cake, fermented spider eye and pumpkin pie. Sugar can also be used to make potion of swiftness and mundane potion.

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Sugarcane for trading

A wandering trader can also trade some sugarcane and give players emeralds. This way, the plant can directly be used to gain some emeralds.

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Tips for using sugarcane

Sugarcane can only grow if there is water on the adjacent block. These plants usually grow up to four to three blocks tall and can only be placed on a grass block, dirt, coarse dirt, sand, red sand, podzol, rooted dirt, moss or mycelium block. Bone meal can be used to grow these plants faster.