Brazil: sugar cane production volume 2010-2021

Sugar cane production in Brazil was forecast to surpass 665 million metric tons in crop year 2020/2021, the highest figure reported since the 2015/16 season. In comparison to the previous year, this would represent an increase of 3.5 percent in output. Sugar cane is one of the most important crops in Brazil, accounting for more than 15 percent of the national agricultural production value in 2019.

Agricultural production

The increase in production expected for the 2020/21 crop year is the result of an extension in planted area in the country that year, combined with a surge in the crop yield of sugar cane. The state of São Paulo is the largest producer, accounting for more than half of the Brazilian sugar cane output. Goiás and Minas Gerais follow, ranking second and third, respectively.

Sugar cane products

Sugar and ethanol are by far the most important products of industrial processing of sugar cane in Brazil. In the 2018/2019 crop year, sugar production in the country reached the lowest record of the decade, costing its top position in the global ranking to be taken by former runner-up India. Nevertheless, in the following year, Brazil reclaimed its crown as the largest sugar producer worldwide. The offer of sugar cane for the production of sugar is counterbalanced by its demand for ethanol fuel production, which peaked in 2019 at more than 400 million tons. Additionally, sugar cane juice is used to produce cachaça, a distilled spirit which is the main ingredient in Brazil's famous Caipirinha.