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How to buy sugar from Brazil

Send three things and you get a firm quotation, valid for a stated period: the grade, the volume in metric tonnes, and the destination port. Nothing else is needed to open the conversation, and no registration, deposit or fee is involved at the enquiry stage.

Say with the volume whether it is a single shipment or a multi-shipment contract across a period, because the two are priced differently and the smallest economic lot is not the same for both.

After the enquiry the sequence is short: we confirm the specification against your own purchase specification if you hold one, issue a quotation priced against the market on the day with a stated validity, then a sales contract that names the specification, the quantity and its tolerance, the shipment window, the inspection arrangement and the payment instrument. A fuller walk-through is on how to buy sugar from Brazil.

What to include in your enquiry

Six lines in the message field of the form on this page turn an enquiry into something that can be quoted on the first reply.

• Grade — the ICUMSA figure you need: ICUMSA 45, ICUMSA 35, ICUMSA 100 or 150, ICUMSA 600-1200, or beverage grade. If you hold a written purchase specification, send its ceilings with the enquiry and we will tell you whether the grade clears them before a quotation is issued rather than after a cargo is loaded.

• Quantity in metric tonnes — per shipment, and whether the requirement repeats.

• Destination port — and the inland delivery point, if the goods do not stop at the port.

• Incoterm you want quoted — FOB, CFR or CIF (Incoterms 2020).

• Packaging — 50 kg bags, 1,000 kg (1 MT) jumbo bags or bulk, and whether 20ft or 40ft containers suit the handling at your end.

• Target shipment window — a month or a quarter is enough.

An enquiry that reads only "send your best price for sugar" cannot be answered with a price, because that price does not exist yet: it is set by the grade, the volume, the Incoterm and the destination together.

When you will hear back

An enquiry carrying the six lines above is answered either with a quotation or with the one question needed to complete it. Enquiries are handled in English, Portuguese and Chinese.

If your requirement is time-critical, say so and give your deadline. A quotation is priced against the day's market and is firm only for a stated validity period, so timing belongs in the enquiry rather than being settled afterwards.

What we confirm on your quotation

Six commercial terms move with the volume and the destination, so each is confirmed in writing on the quotation instead of being published as a fixed figure that would not hold:

• Minimum order quantity — confirmed on quotation. State your tonnage and we will confirm the smallest lot we can load for your destination.

• Incoterms — FOB, CFR and CIF (Incoterms 2020).

• Port of loading — the Brazilian sugar ports of Santos, São Paulo, and Paranaguá, Paraná. The port for your shipment is confirmed on quotation.

• Lead time — confirmed on quotation. It moves with the shipment window, container or vessel availability, and the point in the Brazilian crop cycle.

• Payment terms — documentary letter of credit, or documentary collection. The instrument and its terms are confirmed on quotation.

• Packaging — 50 kg bags, 1,000 kg jumbo bags or bulk, loaded in 20ft and 40ft containers.

Independent inspection by SGS or an equivalent agency is available at your option, on request. Certifications held for a given grade are confirmed on quotation and supplied with the specification pack.

How the price is set

We quote on enquiry and do not publish a price per tonne — and a buyer should be wary of anyone who does.

Physical sugar is priced by reference to the exchange market at the moment of quotation. The ICE No. 11 raw sugar contract is the benchmark the trade works from, and refined white grades are quoted at a premium over it. The figure then moves with volume, Incoterms, destination port, packaging, the timing of the shipment within the Brazilian crop cycle, and the BRL/USD rate. Freight and insurance on a CFR or CIF basis move independently of the sugar market and carry the landed cost with them.

A number published on a web page is stale within days of being written, and a stale number is worse than none. A quotation against the day's market is firm for its stated validity. The mechanism is set out in full in how ICUMSA 45 sugar is priced per tonne.

What documents ship with the goods

• Certificate of purity and an ICUMSA certificate — the laboratory report of the lot's measured colour. No exporter is "ICUMSA certified": ICUMSA publishes methods and does not inspect cargo. What exists is the laboratory's report, naming the laboratory, the lot and the method used.

• Certificate of analysis for the lot shipped, available before contracting on request.

• Certificate of origin, issued through an accredited Brazilian certifier. For buyers in Arab-League markets the preferential certificate of origin determines the tariff rate applied on import, so it is a line in the landed cost rather than a formality.

• Quality and weight certificates, and an independent inspection report from SGS or an equivalent agency where the contract calls for one.

• Phytosanitary certificate where the destination requires one, with the fumigation certificate for the packaging where that is a condition of entry.

Which grades we export

• ICUMSA 45 refined white sugar — the London White grade, and the one most enquiries are for

• Refined ICUMSA 35 sugar — the lowest colour in commercial trade

• Cane sugar ICUMSA 100 — nearly white, refined for human consumption at a lower cost per tonne

• Crystal white sugar — granulated white, ready for retail repacking

• Beverage-grade refined sugar — supplied against the tighter parameter set drinks production works to

• Raw brown cane sugar, ICUMSA 600-1200 — VHP raw sugar for refineries, fermentation and distillation

If you are not certain which grade your application needs, what the ICUMSA number means and the grade chart explains the scale and which grade suits which use.