Sugar Exports in 2024 Hit Record High, but 2025 Is Unlikely to Repeat the Feat – Here’s Why

Brazil is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sugar. Despite the wildfires that devastated a significant portion of sugarcane fields last year, 2024 saw record-breaking volumes and revenues for the product.

The upward trend has been ongoing since 2022, when the country shipped 27.25 million tons of the commodity, generating revenue of USD 11.01 billion, according to data from the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex).

In 2023, exports increased by 14.8%, and revenue rose by 43%, reaching 31.28 million tons and USD 15.75 billion. However, 2024 pushed these figures even higher: Brazil exported 38.23 million tons of sugar and earned USD 18.60 billion—representing increases of 22.2% and 18%, respectively, compared to two years prior.

The chart below builds on DataLiner data, providing an overview of Brazilian sugar exports from January 2021 to December 2024.

Sugar Exports | Jan 2021 – Dec 2024 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

According to Giovani Ferreira, director of Canal Rural Sul, foreign exchange revenue in 2024 could have been even higher. Still, the price per ton in dollars declined from USD 500 in 2023 to USD 490 last year.

He attributes Brazil’s strong international performance partly to poor harvests in another major producer and consumer of the commodity: India.

Ferreira points out that the Asian country has yet to recover from consecutive production shortfalls, but he believes Brazil is unlikely to match or surpass 2024’s numbers.

“In January last year, we shipped 3.16 million tons; in the first 20 working days of January 2025, only 1.7 million tons were exported. […] This year, Brazil expects to export between 35 and 36 million tons. Matching 2024’s record is quite difficult due to domestic supply limitations,” he concludes.

Source: Canal Rural

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