Global Market Report: Sugar cane prices and sustainability

This report examines market trends in the sugar cane sector, focusing on the impact of sustainability standards on producer incomes in developing countries and the challenges faced by smallholder farmers.

• The sugar cane industry supports the livelihoods of more than 100 million people across 120 countries, with significant production in Brazil, Thailand, India, and South Africa, although many farmers remain in poverty due to low farm gate prices, high production costs, and intense competition.
• Approximately 8% of global sugar cane production complied with sustainability standards such as Bonsucro or FAIRTRADE in 2019, totaling at least 136 million tonnes from more than 37,000 farmers.
• In 2019, FAIRTRADE-compliant producers in Brazil, India, and Thailand may have seen price increases of up to 13% through premiums, which rose to 20% for those also holding Organic certification.
• Sugar cane usage is split between food and energy, with over 80% converted into cane sugar for sweeteners and the remaining 20% converted into biofuel.
• Smallholder farmers face multiple pressures, including climate change-induced crop losses, biodiversity loss, water depletion, and economic shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic, such as increased labor and fertilizer costs.

APA

Luna,, V. V. B. L. L. (2023). Global Market Report: Sugar cane prices and sustainability. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/2023-global-market-report-sugar-cane

Chicago

Luna,, Vivek Voora,Steffany Bermúdez,Han Le,Cristina Larrea,Erika. Global Market Report: Sugar cane prices and sustainability. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2023. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/2023-global-market-report-sugar-cane.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Luna, |first1=Vivek Voora,Steffany Bermúdez,Han Le,Cristina Larrea,Erika |title=Global Market Report: Sugar cane prices and sustainability |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=12 September 2023 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/2023-global-market-report-sugar-cane |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{luna2023global, author = {Luna,, Vivek Voora,Steffany Bermúdez,Han Le,Cristina Larrea,Erika}, title = {{Global Market Report: Sugar cane prices and sustainability}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/2023-global-market-report-sugar-cane}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }