Sugar production in Brazil 2009/2017/2018

In the crop year of 2017/2018, Brazil produced approximately 38.87 million metric tons of sugar, a slight decrease from the previous year. Nevertheless, 2017/2018 had one of the highest production levels of the decade.

Brazilian sugar worldwide

Currently, Brazil produces more sugar than any country in the world except India, which also leads for the highest sugar consumption worldwide. Brazil, however, ranks fifth for sugar consumption, indicating that the country exports a significant portion of the sugar it produces domestically. While Brazil’s sugar exports have fluctuated in recent years without consistent growth, in 2017/2018, the number of exports reached its highest point of the 2010s.

Sugarcane and biofuels in Brazil

Despite a significant volume of sugar exports, the sugar companies with the highest brand penetration rates in Brazil are all domestic companies. The Brazilian sugar sector has been one of the country’s primary sources of economic development since colonial times. Nowadays, sugar cane products are not only a part of culinary culture in Brazil, but account for over 15 percent of domestic energy supply as the basis of bioethanol fuels. Brazilian sugarcane ethanol has been considered one of the most successful biofuels in the global industry, making it the second largest producer of biofuels in the world.