Foreign Perspectives

Brazil is a massive country and one of the largest sugar producers in the world: so large that it’s production directly affects the world price for the product.

All that production is concentrated in just two areas of the country: around Sao Paulo and in the north. So large is the production that they even go so far as to produce ethanol to power cars from it (about half of their production goes this way). Naturally, this reduces their dependence on improrted oil, no bad thing given the way that oil prices are going these days.

You might think that “sugar is sugar” but in fact it isn’t. The refined sugar known as ICUMSA 45 which is aimed at the foodstuff market makes up quite a small percentage of the sugar exported and the majority of exported sugar is in its raw form which gets refined in the country importing it.  Obviously exporting is done in bulk and most ICUMSA 45 is sold well in advance in common with most commodity products which is why you won’t often see “Sugar from Brazil” on your bags of sugar in the shops.

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