That dollar amount reflects an average -15.5% decline for sugar shippers worldwide over the five-year period starting in 2017 when overall sugar shipments were valued at $29.6 billion.
From 2020 to 2021, the value of globally exported sugar increased by 4.9%.
By dollar value, the 5 biggest exporters of sugar are Brazil, India, Thailand, Germany and France were responsible for almost two-thirds (65%) of sugar exports during 2021.
Among continents, Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean sold the highest dollar value worth of sugar exports during 2021 with shipments amounting to $11.3 billion or 45% of worldwide sugar shipments. Countries in Asia were responsible for another 27.8% trailed by European suppliers at 17.1%.
Smaller percentages are attributed to sugar exported from Africa (6.7%), North America (3%) and Oceania (0.4%) led by Australia and Fiji.
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 2021.
- Brazil: US$9.2 billion (36.7% of total sugar exports)
- India: $3.8 billion (15.2%)
- Thailand: $1.5 billion (6.1%)
- Germany: $907 million (3.6%)
- France: $848.8 million (3.4%)
- Mexico: $611.5 million (2.4%)
- Guatemala: $508 million (2%)
- Eswatini: $381.5 million (1.5%)
- United Arab Emirates: $364 million (1.5%)
- Belgium: $359.5 million (1.4%)
- Poland: $343.6 million (1.4%)
- Netherlands: $343.1 million (1.4%)
- Morocco: $324.4 million (1.3%)
- Colombia: $318.5 million (1.3%)
- South Africa: $277.1 million (1.1%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 80.3% of global sugar exports in 2021.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing sugar exporters from 2020 to 2021 were: India (up 52.8%), Germany (up 42.8%), Poland (up 27.6%) and Belgium (up 16.2%).
Those countries that posted declines in their exported sugar sales were led by: United Arab Emirates (down -39.0%), South Africa (down -25.0%), France (down -16.6%), Mexico (down -14.0%) and Thailand (down -13.6%).
Countries Generating Greatest Surpluses Trading Sugar
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for sugar during 2021. 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$9.2 billion (net export surplus up 5% since 2020)
- India: $3.6 billion (up 95.9%)
- Thailand: $1.5 billion (down -14%)
- France: $597.7 million (down -24.4%)
- Germany: $591.5 million (up 114.2%)
- Mexico: $588.2 million (down -10.4%)
- Guatemala: $506.2 million (down -11.7%)
- Eswatini: $380.5 million (down -3.2%)
- Poland: $253.8 million (up 41.2%)
- El Salvador: $235.5 million (up 9.1%)
- Colombia: $206.5 million (down -15.6%)
- Netherlands: $188.4 million (down -2.4%)
- Russia: $164.4 million (down -57.9%)
- Nicaragua: $151.8 million (up 4.5%)
- Cuba: $136.8 million (down -39.6%)
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 2021. 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$2.2 billion (net export deficit up 13.8% since 2020)
- Mainland China: -$2 billion (up 17.2%)
- United States of America: -$1.7 billion (down -13.1%)
- Nigeria: -$901.7 million (up 28.2%)
- Bangladesh: -$875.2 million (up 20.7%)
- Malaysia: -$781.1 million (up 19.1%)
- Italy: -$757.2 million (up 5.8%)
- South Korea: -$716.1 million (up 41.1%)
- Algeria: -$641.9 million (up 51.9%)
- Sudan: -$590.5 million (up 5.4%)
- Spain: -$586.2 million (up 22.1%)
- Ethiopia: -$581.6 million (up 72.2%)
- Vietnam: -$552.7 million (down -13.1%)
- Japan: -$512.6 million (up 29.4%)
- Canada: -$486.5 million (up 27.1%)
Highly populated Indonesia, mainland China and America racked up the biggest deficits in the international trade of sugar. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights their strong competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for sugar-supplying countries that help satisfy the demand from consumers and businesses.
Major Sugar Exporting Companies
Below are the world’s biggest sugar exporting companies. Shown within parenthesis is the country where the conglomerate is headquartered.
- Copersucar (Brazil)
- Cosan (Brazil)
- Mitr Phol Group (Thailand)
- Thai Roong Ruang Sugar Group (Thailand)
- Tereos S.A. (France)
- EID Parry Limited (India)
- Südzucker AG (Germany)
- Nordzucker Group (Germany)
- British Sugar Plc (United Kingdom)
- Louis Dreyfus Group (Netherlands)
According to global trade intelligence firm Zepol, the following companies are also engaged in the sugar industry.
- Jalles Machad (Brazil)
- Azucarera Paraguay (Paraguay)
- Liga Agricola Industrial De La (Costa Rica)
Searchable List of Sugar Exporting Countries in 2021
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that no 2017 data was available.
| Rank | Exporter | Sugar Exports (US$) | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Brazil | $9,186,406,000 | +5.1% |
| 2. | India | $3,813,056,000 | +52.8% |
| 3. | Thailand | $1,515,751,000 | -13.6% |
| 4. | Germany | $907,043,000 | +42.8% |
| 5. | France | $848,791,000 | -16.6% |
| 6. | Mexico | $611,531,000 | -14% |
| 7. | Guatemala | $507,989,000 | -11.9% |
| 8. | Eswatini | $381,541,000 | -2.9% |
| 9. | United Arab Emirates | $364,032,000 | -39% |
| 10. | Belgium | $359,457,000 | +16.2% |
| 11. | Poland | $343,641,000 | +27.6% |
| 12. | Netherlands | $343,130,000 | -2% |
| 13. | Morocco | $324,410,000 | +13.3% |
| 14. | Colombia | $318,489,000 | -12.8% |
| 15. | South Africa | $277,141,000 | -25% |
| 16. | Saudi Arabia | $267,361,000 | +63.2% |
| 17. | Russia | $258,808,000 | -43.9% |
| 18. | El Salvador | $235,559,000 | +9.1% |
| 19. | Indonesia | $206,419,000 | +775.7% |
| 20. | Czech Republic | $169,793,000 | +22.7% |
| 21. | Mauritius | $169,192,000 | -9.7% |
| 22. | Malaysia | $152,744,000 | +41.6% |
| 23. | Nicaragua | $151,866,000 | +4.5% |
| 24. | Turkey | $150,940,000 | +540.2% |
| 25. | South Korea | $147,856,000 | +6.8% |
| 26. | Portugal | $147,313,000 | +50.1% |
| 27. | Cuba | $136,840,000 | -39.6% |
| 28. | Algeria | $135,157,000 | -45.4% |
| 29. | Egypt | $133,421,000 | +10.9% |
| 30. | Costa Rica | $129,758,000 | +64.6% |
| 31. | Argentina | $122,099,000 | +49.8% |
| 32. | Denmark | $120,824,000 | +27.8% |
| 33. | Dominican Republic | $116,156,000 | +2.5% |
| 34. | Belarus | $112,815,000 | -25.7% |
| 35. | Serbia | $100,322,000 | +113.9% |
| 36. | United States | $86,707,000 | -7.1% |
| 37. | Zambia | $78,602,000 | -11.6% |
| 38. | Philippines | $72,250,000 | +14.4% |
| 39. | Austria | $70,564,000 | +51.5% |
| 40. | Belize | $69,128,000 | +26.7% |
| 41. | United Kingdom | $64,386,000 | -62.7% |
| 42. | Lithuania | $63,852,000 | +18.9% |
| 43. | Paraguay | $61,832,000 | +9.3% |
| 44. | Uganda | $61,476,000 | -14.1% |
| 45. | China | $60,892,000 | -15.5% |
| 46. | Bolivia | $60,252,000 | +22% |
| 47. | Peru | $57,701,000 | -15.5% |
| 48. | Canada | $56,630,000 | -2.3% |
| 49. | Laos | $52,603,000 | +10.9% |
| 50. | Spain | $51,292,000 | +17.8% |
| 51. | Croatia | $50,360,000 | +19.2% |
| 52. | Slovakia | $50,092,000 | +50% |
| 53. | Australia | $46,667,000 | +11.9% |
| 54. | Honduras | $44,456,000 | -39.3% |
| 55. | Cambodia | $43,695,000 | -5.1% |
| 56. | Mozambique | $39,963,000 | +11.1% |
| 57. | Singapore | $39,203,000 | +6.6% |
| 58. | Azerbaijan | $32,093,000 | +19.3% |
| 59. | Sweden | $30,821,000 | -15% |
| 60. | Fiji | $30,796,000 | -34.4% |
| 61. | Malawi | $29,366,000 | -61.4% |
| 62. | Slovenia | $28,643,000 | +10.8% |
| 63. | Panama | $27,039,000 | +4.3% |
| 64. | Bulgaria | $25,815,000 | +55.7% |
| 65. | Taiwan | $21,780,000 | +0.1% |
| 66. | Italy | $21,280,000 | -17.2% |
| 67. | Ukraine | $20,021,000 | -66.3% |
| 68. | Guyana | $19,589,000 | -18.3% |
| 69. | Romania | $18,058,000 | -30% |
| 70. | Zimbabwe | $17,687,000 | -76.6% |
| 71. | Hungary | $16,126,000 | -34% |
| 72. | New Zealand | $15,870,000 | +9.5% |
| 73. | Ecuador | $15,077,000 | -10.2% |
| 74. | Moldova | $10,966,000 | +174.6% |
| 75. | Greece | $10,610,000 | +43.4% |
| 76. | Hong Kong | $9,278,000 | +34% |
| 77. | Venezuela | $8,156,000 | +271767% |
| 78. | Andorra | $7,753,000 | +387550% |
| 79. | Togo | $7,272,000 | -18% |
| 80. | Finland | $6,976,000 | +13.3% |
| 81. | Tunisia | $6,339,000 | -71.2% |
| 82. | Ireland | $5,083,000 | -3.4% |
| 83. | Kazakhstan | $4,653,000 | -64% |
| 84. | Switzerland | $4,498,000 | +46.6% |
| 85. | Jamaica | $4,300,000 | -34.2% |
| 86. | Japan | $3,690,000 | -5.1% |
| 87. | Benin | $3,612,000 | +123.9% |
| 88. | Congo | $3,362,000 | +62.2% |
| 89. | Angola | $2,906,000 | -49% |
| 90. | Latvia | $2,886,000 | +17.2% |
| 91. | Vietnam | $2,603,000 | +77.1% |
| 92. | Lebanon | $1,666,000 | -63.9% |
| 93. | Trinidad/Tobago | $1,638,000 | -32.5% |
| 94. | Madagascar | $1,601,000 | -72.4% |
| 95. | Israel | $1,551,000 | +66.4% |
| 96. | Sri Lanka | $1,341,000 | +518% |
| 97. | Botswana | $1,108,000 | +975.7% |
| 98. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $1,101,000 | -37.2% |
| 99. | French Polynesia | $1,022,000 | 0% |
| 100. | Suriname | $983,000 | 0% |
The 100 top exporters accounted for 99.97% of the overall value of sugar exported during 2021.
Biggest Exporters of Sugar Ranked by Shipment Weight
The overall volume of sugar exported during 2021 totaled 59.9 million tons, down a massive -77.2% compared to global shipments in 2017.
From 2020 to 2021, the shipment weight of all sugar exported dropped by -13.6%.
Below, you will find the 15 countries that exported the greatest amount of sugar by physical weight during 2021.
- Brazil: 27,254,888 tons of exported sugar (down -11% from 2020)
- India: 9,138,001 tons (up 29.4%)
- Thailand: 3,557,431 tons (down -34.2%)
- France: 1,662,704 tons (down -25.7%)
- Germany: 1,654,920 tons (up 33.8%)
- Guatemala: 1,317,347 tons (down -20.5%)
- United Arab Emirates: 676,100 tons (down -54%)
- Poland: 672,198 tons (up 14.3%)
- Morocco: 653,118 tons (up 0.8%)
- Eswatini: 604,788 tons (down -17.6%)
- Colombia: 593,185 tons (down -22%)
- South Africa: 592,107 tons (down -41.8%)
- Belgium: 575,933 tons (up 4.1%)
- El Salvador: 572,296 tons (down -5.6%)
- Netherlands: 530,680 tons (down -12.9%)
- Russia: 458,163 tons (down -61.6%)
Five among these top exporters increased the physical amount of sugar shipped from 2020 to 2021. These gainers were Germany (up 33.8%), India (up 29.4%), Poland (up 14.3%), Belgium (up 4.1%) then Morocco (up 0.8%).
Leading decliners in terms of shipping smaller amounts of sugar in 2021 compared to exported volumes were Russia (down -61.6%), United Arab Emirates (down -54%), South Africa (down -41.8%), Thailand (down -34.2%) and France (down -25.7%).
Average Unit Prices for Top Sugar Exporters
The world average price for sugar exported from all countries was US$418 per ton in 2021. That sugar tonnage cost reflects a 270.8% rise since 2017 and an overall inflation rate of 21.4% from 2020 to 2021.
The following listing focuses on the average unit prices per ton of exported sugar in 2021 for the top 15 countries ranked in terms of each entry’s total dollar value for sugar supplied in international markets.
- Brazil: $337 per ton of sugar (up 18.2% from 2020)
- India: $417 per ton (up 18.1%)
- Thailand: $426 per ton (up 31.5%)
- Germany: $548 per ton (up 6.6%)
- France: $510 per ton (up 12.1%)
- Mexico: $487 per ton (down -14%)
- Guatemala: $386 per ton (up 10.9%)
- Eswatini: $631 per ton (up 17.7%)
- United Arab Emirates: $538 per ton (up 32.8%)
- Belgium: $624 per ton (up 11.6%)
- Poland: $511 per ton (up 11.6%)
- Netherlands: $647 per ton (up 12.5%)
- Morocco: $497 per ton (up 12.4%)
- Colombia: $537 per ton (up 11.9%)
- South Africa: $468 per ton (up 28.9%)
Three countries shipped sugar on global markets charging average unit prices lower than the global average of $418. This trio of comparatively low-cost bigger suppliers are world-leading Brazil, Guatemala and India.
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 May 26, 2022
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on May 26, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 26, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 26, 2022
Wikipedia, Sugar Companies. Accessed on May 26, 2022
Zepol’s company summary highlights by HTS code. Accessed on May 26, 2022
