# Sugar

Sucrose from tropical cane and temperate beet: a heavily protected crop whose Brazilian supply doubles as ethanol feedstock.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sugar/

Softs · No. 97

- Not on a critical list
- HHI 2,169 · moderately concentrated
 Softs · Foundation · Matter

Brazil sells half the world's exported sugar, and much of its cane also becomes ethanol for cars.

Chart: Illustration: Sugar

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Cane is a tropical grass that regrows from its stubble; beet is a temperate root. Both must be milled soon after harvest. FAOSTAT counted 1.94 billion t of cane in 2024.

##### Three things to know

1. Brazil grew 39% of the world's sugar cane in 2024 and supplied 51.4% of world sugar export value.
2. Cuba's sugar output more than halved, from 8 Mt in 1989-90 to 3.3 Mt in 1994-95, after Soviet support ended.
3. In real 2010 dollars, sugar fell from $0.52/kg in 2011 to $0.32/kg in 2025.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Cane or beet**Tropical cane or temperate beet
2. 2 **Milling**Juice extracted beside the fields
3. 3 **Crystallising**Juice clarified, evaporated into raw sugar
4. 4 **Refining**Whitened, or fermented into ethanol
5. 5 **End uses**Food, soft drinks and fuel
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## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sugar/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sugar/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sugar/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sugar/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sugar/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sugar/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sugar/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sugar/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sugar/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sugar/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sugar/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sugar/links/index.md)