Brazilian Sugar Export
Brazil is the world leader in sugar exports, a position it has held for several decades, and one that it does not seem to be 
relinquishing any time soon. In fact, Brazil’s sugar exports are increasing yearly, and Brazil is set to export over 20 million tons of sugar in 2008, more than five times the amount of any other country in the world.
Brazil’s sugar successes are due to many factors. With a sugar industry that is almost 500 years old, Brazil certainly has plenty of experience in the arts of growing, processing, and refining sugar. Some of Brazil’s success can be attributed to the geographic features of the country. Brazil is a very large country with vast swathes of cultivatable land, and a climate suited to sugar cane growing. Much of the Sao Paulo region of Brazil in the center south of the country has now been turned over to the production of sugar cane because its large flat fields are ideal for growing sugar cane.
That is only part of the formula of Brazil’s sugar success however. Not content to rest on its environmental laurels, Brazil strives constantly to improve the way it grows and processes sugar cane. There are currently over sixty strains of Brazilian sugar cane in Brazil, the bulk of which have been developed over the years by Brazilian sugar scientists. Compare this with the six strains of sugar cane commonly used in Thailand, the world’s second largest sugar exporting country, and it is easy to see the extra resources which have been invested in the Brazilian sugar industry.
The various strains of sugar cane are designed to adapt to different growing conditions and also to provide optimal material for processing. For example, there are special high sucrose strains of sugar cane which yield much more sucrose per cane than typical sugar cane, and then there are other strains of sugar cane that can survive and thrive in conditions that normal sugar cane could not withstand, such as particularly dry, non fertile, or hard soil. The Brazilians have even gone so far as to sequence the sugar cane genome, so dedicated are they to fully understanding their business, and the plant that underlies the multi billion dollar industry.
Brazil’s sugar mills and refineries are also models of efficiency. Most major mills spend thousands of dollars a year, if not millions, monitoring efficiency and ensuring that unnecessary costs are not incurred. Water, sugar cane fiber, even pieces of dirt are all recycled and reused in Brazilian sugar mills. This has paid great dividends for the industry as a whole, and Brazil’s sugar mills and refineries are now the most efficient in the world.
Brazilian Sugar Prices
Sugar buyers will be pleased to learn that 2008 is likely to be one of the lowest years in recent history with regards to sugar prices. Currently sitting at 12.5 cents US per pound, sugar prices are dipping due in most part to exceptional production in Brazil, India, and Thailand. This comes at the same time as many costs associated with production and transport are rising markedly, putting a squeeze on the Brazilian sugar economy. Fortunately for Brazil, sugar ethanol, another product of sugar cane, is in exceptionally high demand as a bio fuel. Brazil currently uses sugar ethanol to provide around 15% of its energy needs, and other countries are keen to follow its lead as fossil fuel prices rise due to conflicts in the Middle Eastern regions and a gradual dwindling of the world’s oil reserves. Many Brazilian sugar mills and refineries now co produce both sugar and sugar ethanol, which means that they have a buffer against fluctuations in either market.
Types of Brazilian Sugar For Export
Brazil exports large amounts of VHP raw sugar, in fact VHP makes up the bulk of Brazilian exports. VHP is very high pol sugar, a term that means that the sugar has a high sucrose level. VHP sugar is 99.4% sucrose. Invented by Brazilians in 1993, VHP sugar quickly became the world’s most popular sugar export. Unlike other forms of raw sugar, VHP contains relatively few contaminants and is easier and quicker to refine than traditional raw sugar.
Aside from VHP sugar, Brazil also exports refined sugars from ICUMSA 150 to ICUMSA 45. Large quantities of ICUMSA 45 especially are relatively rare, as Brazil has largely based its sugar export industry on the export of raw sugar which is then refined in the destination country at the buyer’s expense.
Buying Brazil Sugar Exports
It is advised that if one is seeking to purchase refined sugar direct from Brazil, one makes the purchase as far ahead of time as possible, and allows for relatively small monthly shipments to be made until the full amount of the purchase can be fulfilled. Purchasing VHP raw sugar is much the same proposition, although Brazilian VHP sugar is more plentiful and larger shipments may be obtained relatively easily.
The bulk of Brazilian sugar is sold on the futures market, sometimes up to three years ahead of production. This means that in any given year, the bulk of sugar produced has already been sold. People looking to purchase sugar need to be aware of this. These are two ways to break into the sugar market. One way is to purchase surplus supplies, something which should not be too difficult in 2008, a year for which a global surplus of 11 million tons of sugar has been forecast, and another way is to sign a deal with a sugar seller for multiple deliveries taking place over the course of months or years. This is generally a satisfactory arrangement for both buyer and seller, as most buyers do not really need mountains of sugar all at one time, rather they seek a constant supply of sugar for their own operations.
Most Brazilian sugar is sold under a CIF agreement, CIF being an acronym which stands for cost insured freight. The seller covers the cost of freight and insurance to the destination country. It is also standard practice for the seller to organize and pay for SGS inspectors to inspect the sugar at the port of departure before the shipment sails and confirm its quality, quantity, and that it matches the description on the sales sheet.
For more information on sugar purchasing procedures, please see the related articles on this site which cover all aspects of sugar trading comprehensively.
How to get started?
We export sugar directly from Brazilian sugar mills. Please contact us with your detailed requirements and we will get back to you with instructions on how to proceed