ICUMSA 45 Sugar from Brazil

Specification last reviewed 19 October 2026.

What is ICUMSA 45 sugar?

ICUMSA 45 is refined white cane sugar with a colour of no more than 45 ICUMSA units. It is the whitest and most widely traded of the refined export grades, and in the international trade it is also known as London White.

ICUMSA stands for the International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis, the body that standardises the analytical methods used to grade sugar across its member national committees. An ICUMSA figure is a measure of colour in solution, and colour is used as the practical proxy for purity: the lower the ICUMSA number, the whiter and more refined the sugar. ICUMSA 45 therefore sits near the top of the scale's refined end, while raw grades sit in the hundreds.

We export ICUMSA 45 from Brazil in wholesale quantities, sourced from mills in São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Goiás.

ICUMSA 45 sugar specifications

Two figures below are published for the grade. The rest are certified for the lot you buy, on that lot's certificate of analysis, and are stated there rather than estimated here — a specification page that invents a polarisation figure is of no use to you at acceptance, which is where the argument actually happens.

Analytical specification

Commercial specification

If your own purchase specification sets a ceiling on any parameter above — ash, SO₂, granulation, a microbiological count — send it with the enquiry. We will tell you whether the grade clears it before a quotation is issued rather than after a cargo is loaded.

Terms of supply at a glance

These are the six things a bulk buyer screens on before a technical conversation is worth having. Where a figure is set by the volume and the destination, it is confirmed on quotation, which is the truthful answer rather than a published number that would not hold.

Documentation issued for a cargo

The documents that accompany a cargo are the part of a sugar contract that decides what the buyer actually pays at the far end, so they are worth reading before the price.

• Certificate of purity and an ICUMSA certificate — the laboratory report of the lot's colour, measured by an ICUMSA method. Note that 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.

• 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 it, together with the fumigation certificate for the packaging where that is a condition of entry.

• The commercial set: invoice, packing list and bill of lading.

Import requirements differ by country and change. Tell us the destination early and the documentary set is confirmed against it in the quotation.

How ICUMSA 45 compares with the adjacent grades

Because ICUMSA measures colour, the grades form a single ladder from refined to raw. The practical question for a buyer is how much refining the application actually requires — paying for colour you do not need is the most common avoidable cost in a sugar contract.

The step from ICUMSA 45 up to ICUMSA 100 is the one most buyers weigh. ICUMSA 100 is near-white rather than snow white and is specified at 99.50% polarisation minimum with ceilings of 0.15% ash and 0.10% moisture, but it is less processed and correspondingly cheaper per tonne. If the finished product is clear — a carbonated soft drink, a clear syrup, a white icing, a pharmaceutical syrup — the colour of ICUMSA 45 is doing real work and the premium is justified. If the sugar is going into a coloured, baked or fermented product, it may not be.

Downward, the step to ICUMSA 35 buys additional purity and drier, clearer grains. It is specified where a process is sensitive to residual colour or to moisture pick-up. For the full scale, the measurement methods and the colour chart, see what the ICUMSA number measures.

What ICUMSA 45 sugar is used for

ICUMSA 45 is used both as an ingredient and as a finished product for direct consumption. Its crystals are fine and free-flowing, which keeps it pourable and dosable in automated lines, and it dissolves readily without leaving residual colour in solution.

• Soft drinks and beverages — the clean, neutral sweetness and the absence of residual colour are the reason refined white is the default in clear and carbonated beverages. For bottler-specification material, see beverage-grade refined sugar.

• Confectionery and bakery — sweets, chocolate, icings, pastries and fillings, where crystal uniformity governs texture.

• Pharmaceuticals — as an excipient in syrups, tablets and lozenges, where a neutral odour and low moisture matter.

• Cosmetics — in exfoliants and in formulations that need a neutral, soluble carrier.

• Retail repacking — table and household sugar for repackers and distributors, which is where the 50 kg bag and the 1 MT jumbo bag earn their place over bulk.

Who buys ICUMSA 45 sugar

The grade's buyers fall into four groups, and each screens on something different:

• Beverage bottlers and syrup houses — screen hardest on colour and on consistency between containers.

• Food and confectionery manufacturers — screen on granulation and moisture, because both affect handling on the line.

• Pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulators — screen on purity and documentation, and typically require the certificate of analysis before contracting.

• Importers, distributors and repackers — screen on landed cost per tonne and on reliability of shipment.

Geographically, demand for Brazilian refined white concentrates in the Middle East, West and North Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean. This page is written for that reader: tonnes, not pounds, and a discharge port you name.

ICUMSA 45 sugar price

There is no fixed price for ICUMSA 45, and any website quoting a flat figure per tonne is quoting a number that has already expired.

Sugar is a traded commodity, and a physical quotation is a futures price plus a differential. Refined white sugar is priced against the London No. 5 white sugar futures contract, which itself trades at a premium — the white premium — over the ICE No. 11 raw sugar contract that the world prices raw sugar against. On top of that benchmark, the figure you are quoted moves with:

• Volume and shipment schedule — a single container and a multi-shipment contract do not price alike.

• Incoterms and destination port — on a CFR or CIF basis, freight and insurance are a material share of the number, and they move independently of the sugar market.

• Packaging — 50 kg bags, jumbo bags and bulk each carry a different cost per tonne loaded.

• Specification — a tightened colour, ash or microbiological limit is a cost, which is why the specification is settled before the price.

• Timing within the Brazilian crop cycle, and the Brazilian real against the US dollar.

So we quote on enquiry, firm for a stated validity period, rather than publishing a figure. For how a tonne of ICUMSA 45 is quoted, parameter by parameter, read how ICUMSA 45 sugar is priced per tonne; for what the benchmark contracts are, see what determines the price of ICUMSA 45 sugar.

How to buy ICUMSA 45 sugar from Brazil

Five steps, in this order. Most enquiries that stall do so because the first two were skipped.

1. Enquiry. Send the grade, the tonnage, the destination port, the Incoterm you want and your shipment window. If you have a written specification, attach it.

2. Specification confirmed. We confirm the grade against your specification and, on request, send a certificate of analysis before you commit to anything.

3. Quotation. A firm offer on your Incoterm, priced against the market on the day, with packaging, loading port and a stated validity period.

4. Contract. The sales contract names the specification, the quantity and tolerance, the shipment window, the inspection arrangement and the payment instrument — letter of credit or documentary collection.

5. Shipment. Loading, independent inspection where contracted, and the documentary set released against the payment terms agreed.

Frequently asked questions

What is ICUMSA 45 sugar? ICUMSA 45 is refined white cane sugar with a colour of no more than 45 ICUMSA units, 99.8% sucrose and around 0.04% moisture. It is snow white, with fine free-flowing crystals, and is suitable both for direct consumption and as a manufacturing ingredient. It is the standard refined export grade, known in the trade as London White.

What does ICUMSA stand for? The International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis. It is the international body that standardises the analytical methods used to grade sugar. An ICUMSA number expresses the colour of the sugar in solution, which the trade uses as its practical measure of refinement.

What does the number 45 mean? It is a colour ceiling, not a percentage. The sugar measures no more than 45 ICUMSA units. A lower number means a whiter, more refined sugar, so ICUMSA 35 is more refined than ICUMSA 45, and raw sugar at ICUMSA 600–1200 is far darker.

What is the polarisation of ICUMSA 45 sugar? It is stated on the certificate of analysis for the lot, not published as a headline figure for the grade. Polarisation and colour are independent parameters — a sugar can be high-pol and dark, which is exactly what raw VHP sugar is — so a contract should name the polarisation it requires and accept against the certificate for the lot shipped. If you work to a minimum pol, put it in the enquiry.

What is the ash content of ICUMSA 45 sugar? Certified per lot as conductivity ash, on the certificate of analysis. Conductivity ash is one of the inputs that weights the colour grade itself, which is why it belongs on the certificate rather than in a brochure. For comparison, the ICUMSA 100 grade we supply is specified at 0.15% ash maximum.

What is the price of Brazil ICUMSA 45 sugar? It is quoted at the time of enquiry rather than published. Refined white is priced against the London No. 5 white sugar contract, which trades at a premium to the ICE No. 11 raw contract, and the figure then moves with your volume, Incoterms, destination port, packaging and shipment timing. Send us the grade, volume and destination port and we will quote firm for a stated validity.

What is the minimum order quantity? It is confirmed on quotation, because the smallest economic lot depends on the destination and on whether you are taking containers or breakbulk. State your tonnage in the enquiry and you will get a straight answer with the price.

Which Incoterms do you sell on? FOB, CFR and CIF. Which one is right depends on whether you or we arrange the ocean freight and insurance, and that decision changes the quoted figure rather than the specification.

What documentation ships with the sugar? A certificate of purity, an ICUMSA certificate and a certificate of analysis, with a certificate of origin through an accredited Brazilian certifier, quality and weight certificates, and a phytosanitary certificate where the destination requires one. Independent inspection by SGS or an equivalent agency is available on request.

Is ICUMSA 45 the same as refined white sugar? ICUMSA 45 is a refined white sugar, but "refined white" covers more than one grade. ICUMSA 45 is the common export specification; ICUMSA 35 is more refined still. If a contract says only "refined white sugar", the ICUMSA figure is the term that actually defines what you receive.

What is the HS code for ICUMSA 45 sugar? Refined sugar falls under Harmonised System subheading 1701.99, within heading 1701. Beyond six digits each country extends the nomenclature with its own tariff lines and quota arrangements, so the operative code is the national line in your tariff — confirm it with your customs broker before the contract is signed.

Where is the sugar sourced? From mills in São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Goiás, the three states at the centre of Brazilian cane production, and loaded at Santos or Paranaguá.

Request a quotation

To receive a priced offer, send us four things:

1. Grade — ICUMSA 45, or the grades you want quoted against each other

2. Volume — tonnage, and whether it is a single shipment or a contract across several

3. Destination port and the Incoterm you want quoted — FOB, CFR or CIF

4. Shipment window, and your written specification if you have one

Submit the enquiry form below or contact us directly. We will come back with a firm quotation, the full specification and a certificate of analysis for the grade.