That dollar amount results from a 35.1% average increase for all sugar shippers worldwide over the five-year period starting in 2018 when overall sugar shipments were valued at $22.9 billion.
Year over year, the value of globally exported sugar accelerated by 20.2% compared to $25.7 billion for 2021.
By dollar value, the 5 biggest exporters of sugar are Brazil, India, Thailand, France and Germany were responsible for over two-thirds (70.7%) of globally exported sugar during 2022. Such a high percentage suggests a concentrated set of sugar exporters.
Shifting to a continents-based perspective, shippers in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean sold the highest dollar value worth of sugar exports during 2022 with shipments amounting to $13.3 billion or 42.9% of worldwide sugar shipments. Countries in Asia were responsible for another 32.7% trailed by European suppliers at 15%.
Smaller percentages are sourced from sugar exporters in Africa (5.9%), North America (3.1%) and Oceania (0.4%) led by Fiji and Australia.
Technically, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 1701 for cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose in solid form.
Sugar Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of sugar during 2022.
- Brazil: US$11 billion (35.6% of total sugar exports)
- India: $5.7 billion (18.6%)
- Thailand: $3.1 billion (9.9%)
- France: $1.2 billion (3.7%)
- Germany: $890.6 million (2.9%)
- Mexico: $825.3 million (2.7%)
- Guatemala: $799.7 million (2.6%)
- Morocco: $433.8 million (1.4%)
- Netherlands: $391.3 million (1.3%)
- Belgium: $335.2 million (1.1%)
- Poland: $321.2 million (1%)
- Eswatini: $304.3 million (1%)
- South Africa: $293.6 million (1%)
- Indonesia: $251.1 million (0.8%)
- Saudi Arabia: $236.1 million (0.8%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 84.3% of global sugar exports in 2022.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing sugar exporters from 2021 to 2022 were: Thailand (up 101.8%), Guatemala (up 57.4%), India (up 50.6%) and France (up 35.5%).
Five leading sugar providers posted declines in their exported sugar sales, namely Eswatini (down -24.5%), Saudi Arabia (down -11.7%), Poland (down -6.5%), Belgium (down -6.1%) and Germany (down -2.1%).
Countries Generating Greatest Surpluses Trading Sugar
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for sugar during 2022. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s sugar exports and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Brazil: US$11 billion (net export surplus up 19.8% since 2021)
- India: $5.5 billion (up 51.3%)
- Thailand: $3 billion (up 102.7%)
- France: $903.8 million (up 51.2%)
- Mexico: $814.8 million (up 38.5%)
- Guatemala: $799.7 million (up 58%)
- Germany: $595.4 million (up 0.7%)
- Eswatini: $300.6 million (down -25.2%)
- El Salvador: $229.2 million (down -2.7%)
- Netherlands: $180.7 million (up 2%)
- Nicaragua: $168.1 million (up 10.8%)
- Czech Republic: $140.4 million (up 31.4%)
- Dominican Republic: $137.7 million (up 28.5%)
- Ukraine: $135.6 million (reversing a -$67.1 million deficit)
- Mauritius: $134.3 million (up 12.9%)
Brazil maintains its position earning the highest surplus in the international trade of sugar. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Brazil’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Incurring Worst Deficits Trading Sugar
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for sugar during 2022. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s sugar import purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- Indonesia: -US$2.7 billion (net export deficit up 26.3% since 2021)
- mainland China: -$2.5 billion (up 10.7%)
- United States of America: -$2.2 billion (up 23.2%)
- Bangladesh: -$973.5 million (up 11.2%)
- Italy: -$968.7 million (up 31.9%)
- Nigeria: -$844.5 million (down -6.3%)
- Sudan: -$836.4 million (down -2.6%)
- South Korea: -$822.8 million (up 14.9%)
- Spain: -$790.2 million (up 34.8%)
- Malaysia: -$735.6 million (down -5.8%)
- Algeria: -$662.9 million (up 30.8%)
- United Arab Emirates: -$652.9 million (reversing a $68.1 million surplus)
- Chile: -$624.5 million (up 39.3%)
- Japan: -$597.9 million (up 16.6%)
- Ethiopia: -$577.3 million (down -0.7%)
Highly populated Indonesia, mainland China, America and Bangladesh racked up the biggest deficits in the international trade of sugar. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights their strong competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for sugar-supplying countries that help satisfy the demand from a myriad consumers and businesses.
Major Sugar Exporting Companies
Below are the world’s biggest sugar exporting companies. Shown within parenthesis is the country where the conglomerate is headquartered.
- Copersucar (Brazil)
- Cosan (Brazil)
- Mitr Phol Group (Thailand)
- Thai Roong Ruang Sugar Group (Thailand)
- Tereos S.A. (France)
- EID Parry Limited (India)
- Südzucker AG (Germany)
- Nordzucker Group (Germany)
- British Sugar Plc (United Kingdom)
- Louis Dreyfus Group (Netherlands)
According to global trade intelligence firm Zepol, the following companies are also engaged in the sugar industry.
- Jalles Machad (Brazil)
- Azucarera Paraguay (Paraguay)
- Liga Agricola Industrial De La (Costa Rica)
Searchable List of Sugar Exporting Countries in 2022
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that no 2018 data was available.
| Rank | Exporter | Sugar Exports | 2021-2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Brazil | $11,003,830,000 | +19.8% |
| 2. | India | $5,742,001,000 | +50.6% |
| 3. | Thailand | $3,059,287,000 | +101.8% |
| 4. | France | $1,150,297,000 | +35.5% |
| 5. | Germany | $890,626,000 | -2.1% |
| 6. | Mexico | $825,295,000 | +35% |
| 7. | Guatemala | $799,731,000 | +57.4% |
| 8. | Morocco | $433,776,000 | +33.7% |
| 9. | Netherlands | $391,291,000 | +18.6% |
| 10. | Belgium | $335,197,000 | -6.1% |
| 11. | Poland | $321,160,000 | -6.5% |
| 12. | Eswatini | $304,337,000 | -24.5% |
| 13. | South Africa | $293,572,000 | +5.9% |
| 14. | Indonesia | $251,131,000 | +21.7% |
| 15. | Saudi Arabia | $236,103,000 | -11.7% |
| 16. | Colombia | $234,265,000 | -26.4% |
| 17. | El Salvador | $229,317,000 | -2.6% |
| 18. | Czech Republic | $220,488,000 | +28.5% |
| 19. | Mauritius | $196,644,000 | +16.2% |
| 20. | Egypt | $189,324,000 | +41.9% |
| 21. | Nicaragua | $168,193,000 | +10.8% |
| 22. | South Korea | $154,808,000 | +4.7% |
| 23. | Portugal | $149,110,000 | +2.5% |
| 24. | Dominican Republic | $146,496,000 | +26.1% |
| 25. | Malaysia | $140,859,000 | -7.8% |
| 26. | Ukraine | $139,473,000 | +912.9% |
| 27. | Denmark | $133,472,000 | +10.5% |
| 28. | United Arab Emirates | $127,255,000 | -81.9% |
| 29. | China | $113,624,000 | +65.1% |
| 30. | Algeria | $110,710,000 | -59.1% |
| 31. | Russia | $107,283,000 | -58.5% |
| 32. | Costa Rica | $106,790,000 | +12.3% |
| 33. | United States | $90,548,000 | +4.6% |
| 34. | Austria | $84,100,000 | +19.8% |
| 35. | Peru | $81,643,000 | +41.5% |
| 36. | Serbia | $79,492,000 | -20.8% |
| 37. | Argentina | $78,624,000 | -35.6% |
| 38. | Belize | $77,165,000 | +11.6% |
| 39. | Cuba | $76,735,000 | -44.2% |
| 40. | Zambia | $74,125,000 | -5.7% |
| 41. | United Kingdom | $69,582,000 | +8% |
| 42. | Spain | $69,430,000 | +35.4% |
| 43. | Uganda | $67,296,000 | -28.8% |
| 44. | Bolivia | $66,102,000 | +9.7% |
| 45. | Lithuania | $63,552,000 | -0.6% |
| 46. | Slovakia | $63,048,000 | +25.9% |
| 47. | Croatia | $62,811,000 | +24% |
| 48. | Fiji | $60,736,000 | +97.1% |
| 49. | Bulgaria | $58,192,000 | +131.3% |
| 50. | Honduras | $57,527,000 | +29.4% |
| 51. | Mozambique | $57,053,000 | +42.8% |
| 52. | Canada | $52,348,000 | -7.7% |
| 53. | Paraguay | $49,288,000 | +73464% |
| 54. | Singapore | $45,668,000 | +16.5% |
| 55. | Sweden | $44,273,000 | +43.6% |
| 56. | Cambodia | $42,207,000 | -3.4% |
| 57. | Australia | $38,967,000 | -16.5% |
| 58. | Azerbaijan | $38,806,000 | +20.9% |
| 59. | Myanmar | $37,812,000 | -49.9% |
| 60. | Italy | $35,803,000 | +51.8% |
| 61. | Romania | $29,393,000 | +63.6% |
| 62. | Zimbabwe | $29,084,000 | +85.9% |
| 63. | Slovenia | $28,350,000 | +3.7% |
| 64. | Belarus | $28,229,000 | -75% |
| 65. | Türkiye | $28,150,000 | -81.4% |
| 66. | Panama | $24,562,000 | +7.7% |
| 67. | Ecuador | $23,660,000 | +56.9% |
| 68. | Malawi | $23,654,000 | -68.7% |
| 69. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $21,092,000 | +1816% |
| 70. | Hungary | $19,817,000 | +18.9% |
| 71. | Guyana | $16,929,000 | -13.6% |
| 72. | New Zealand | $16,672,000 | +5.1% |
| 73. | Namibia | $13,611,000 | +2815% |
| 74. | Vietnam | $12,932,000 | +1400% |
| 75. | Taiwan | $11,491,000 | -47.2% |
| 76. | Pitcairn | $10,129,000 | 0% |
| 77. | Togo | $9,281,000 | +27.6% |
| 78. | Hong Kong | $8,159,000 | -12.1% |
| 79. | Greece | $7,654,000 | -27.9% |
| 80. | Iran | $5,199,000 | -33.6% |
| 81. | Finland | $5,087,000 | -27.1% |
| 82. | Philippines | $5,024,000 | -93% |
| 83. | Switzerland | $4,724,000 | +5% |
| 84. | Trinidad/Tobago | $4,297,000 | +13.1% |
| 85. | Latvia | $3,842,000 | +32.5% |
| 86. | Japan | $3,840,000 | +4.1% |
| 87. | Georgia | $3,788,000 | +378700% |
| 88. | Jamaica | $3,638,000 | -45.5% |
| 89. | Moldova | $3,347,000 | -69.5% |
| 90. | Ireland | $2,939,000 | -42.3% |
| 91. | Laos | $2,756,000 | -97.1% |
| 92. | Lebanon | $2,705,000 | +4.7% |
| 93. | Angola | $2,588,000 | -10.9% |
| 94. | Madagascar | $2,090,000 | +30.5% |
| 95. | Tanzania | $2,034,000 | +3129% |
| 96. | Cameroon | $1,581,000 | +87.3% |
| 97. | Afghanistan | $1,528,000 | +607.4% |
| 98. | Bahrain | $1,441,000 | +46.3% |
| 99. | Israel | $1,315,000 | -15.3% |
| 100. | North Macedonia | $1,298,000 | +24.9% |
The 100 top exporters accounted for 99.89% of the overall value of sugar exported during 2022.
Biggest Exporters of Sugar Ranked by Shipment Weight
The overall volume of sugar exported during 2022 totaled 61.9 million tons, expanding by 5.1% compared to global shipments of 58.8 million tons in 2018.
From 2021 to 2022, the shipment weight of all sugar exports rose 3.5% versus 59.8 million tons one year earlier.
Below, you will find the 15 countries that exported the greatest amount of sugar as measured by physical weight during 2022.
- Brazil: 27,291,070 tons of exported sugar (up 0.1% from 2021)
- India: 12,161,266 tons (up 33.1%)
- Thailand: 6,408,550 tons (up 80.1%)
- France: 2,036,032 tons (up 22.7%)
- Guatemala: 1,734,551 tons (up 31.7%)
- Germany: 1,467,733 tons (down -11.6%)
- Morocco: 749,211 tons (up 14.7%)
- Netherlands: 578,857 tons (up 10.9%)
- South Africa: 565,725 tons (down -4.5%)
- Poland: 551,247 tons (down -18%)
- El Salvador: 492,237 tons (down -14%)
- Belgium: 475,329 tons (down -17%)
- Eswatini: 466,620 tons (down -31.3%)
- Nicaragua: 423,373 tons (up 8.6%)
- Indonesia: 405,095 tons (up 12%)
- Colombia: 401,121 tons (down -32.4%)
Five among these top exporters increased the physical amount of sugar shipped from 2021 to 2022. These gainers were Thailand (up 80.1%), India (up 33.1%), Guatemala (up 31.7%), France (up 22.7%) then Morocco (up 14.7%).
Leading decliners in terms of shipping smaller amounts of sugar in 2022 compared to exported volumes for 2021 were Colombia (down -32.4%), Eswatini (down -31.3%), Poland (down -18%), Belgium (down -17%), El Salvador (down -14%) and Germany (down -11.6%).
Average Unit Prices for Top Sugar Exporters
The world average price for sugar exported from all countries was US$499 per ton in 2022. That sugar tonnage cost reflects a 28.5% rise compared to $389 per ton in 2018. In addition, the most recent average price inflated by 16.2% versus an average unit price of $430 per ton for 2021.
The following listing focuses on the average unit prices per ton of exported sugar in 2022 for the top 15 countries ranked in terms of each entry’s total dollar value for sugar supplied in international markets.
- Brazil: US$403 per ton of sugar (up 19.6% from 2021)
- India: $472 per ton (up 13.2%)
- Thailand: $477 per ton (up 12%)
- France: $565 per ton (up 10.6%)
- Guatemala: $461 per ton (up 19.4%)
- Germany: $607 per ton (up 10.8%)
- Morocco: $579 per ton (up 16.5%)
- Netherlands: $676 per ton (up 7%)
- South Africa: $519 per ton (up 10.9%)
- Poland: $583 per ton (up 14.1%)
- El Salvador: $466 per ton (up 13.1%)
- Belgium: $705 per ton (up 13%)
- Eswatini: $652 per ton (up 9.8%)
- Nicaragua: $397 per ton (up 1.8%)
- Indonesia: $620 per ton (up 8.6%)
Just one of the listed countries shipped sugar on global markets charging average unit prices lower than the global average of $499 per ton for 2022. That lone supplier is Nicaragua which charges $397 per ton.
See also Top Exported Spices by Sales, Weight and Unit Value, Sugar Imports by Country, Brazil’s Top 10 Exports and Top Soft Drinks Exporters by Country
Research Sources:
Bloomberg Business, Suedzucker Leads the Top 10 Sugar-Producing Companies (November 2011). Accessed on July 19, 2023
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on July 19, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 19, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 19, 2023
Wikipedia, Sugar Companies. Accessed on July 19, 2023
Zepol’s company summary highlights by HTS code. Accessed on July 19, 2023
