USA Sugar Imports By Country 2007

Brazil, Mexico & Dominican Republic Ship 38% Of America-Bound Sugar

© Daniel Workman

Sep 30, 2008

Sugar is a major component of processed foods including ice cream, pork and beans, breakfast cereals, bagels and even whole grain bread.

Americans lead the world in consuming items with a high-sugar content, particularly fast foods and soft drinks. So it comes as no surprise that the U.S. imports a lot of its sugar, while exporting very little of the commodity.

In 2007, the United States imported US$826 million worth of cane and beet sugar from the rest of the world. That statistic represents a 38.8% dip from 2006 and a 43.8% gain since 2003.

USA’s Top 10 Sugar Suppliers

The following countries generated almost 80% of overall cane and beet sugar shipments delivered to American importers last year.

1. Brazil … US$109.1 million (13.2% of total US sugar imports)
2. Mexico … $103.5 million (12.5%)
3. Dominican Republic … $101.9 million (12.3%)
4. Philippines … $71.4 million (8.6%)
5. Guatemala … $67 million (8.1%)
6. Australia … $59.7 million (7.2%)
7. Costa Rica … $41.4 million (5%)
8. El Salvador … $34.7 million (4.2%)
9. Peru … $31 million (3.8%)
10. Nicaragua … $28.1 million (3.4%).

Central American countries in the above list provided about one third of US-imported sugar last year, followed by South American nations which supplied 16%.

Other Leading Sources For American Sugar Imports

Led by Canada, the following 15 U.S. trade partners accounted for 15.7% of American sugar imports in 2007.

1. Canada … US$23.6 million (2.9% of total US sugar imports)
2. Paraguay … $23 million (2.8%)
3. Panama … $18.7 million (2.3%)
4. Honduras … $17.3 million (2.1%)
5. Argentina … $12.3 million (1.5%)
6. South Africa … $10.2 million (1.2%)
7. Thailand … $6.8 million (0.8%)
8. Belize … $6.2 million (0.75%)
9. Ecuador … $5.9 million (0.71%)
10. Taiwan … $5.87 million (0.71%)
11. Zimbabwe … $5.83 million (0.7%)
12. Swaziland … $5.6 million (0.67%)
13. Colombia … $5.5 million (0.66%)
14. Guyana … $5.3 million (0.64%)
15. India … $5.1 million (0.62%).

Together with the top 10 list, the above-mentioned 25 countries represent 94% of sugar sold to America in 2007.

America’s Fastest-Growing Sugar Providers

From among the top American sugar trade partners, only India, Paraguay and El Salvador increased their sugar sales to the U.S. last year.

1. Switzerland … US$229,000 - Up 3,171% from 2006, Up 1,331% from 2003
2. Germany … $238,000 - Up 2,280%, Up 303.4%
3. Croatia … $49,000 - Up 1,125%, Up 16.7%
4. Iran … $184,000 - Up 982.4%, Up 308.9%
5. Italy … $13,000 - Up 85.7%, Up 225%
6. India … $5.1 million - Up 67.5%, Up 61.1%
7. Portugal … $15,000 - Up 50%, Up 200%
8. Paraguay … $23 million - Up 26.7%, Up 209.2%
9. El Salvador … $34.7 million - Up 25.5%, Up 4.1%
10. South Korea … $45,000 - Up 25%, Up 542.9%.

The other countries listed immediately above are relatively small players, showing how fragmented the U.S. sugar import trade is.

America’s Fastest-Declining Sugar Suppliers

Below are the nations with the steepest declines in sweet commodity shipments to America in 2007.

1. Sweden … US$17,000 - Down 98.2% from 2006, Up 240% from 2003
2. Belgium … $321,000 - Down 97%, Up 27.4%
3. Finland … $158,000 - Down 92.2%, Up 887.3%
4. Colombia … $5.5 million - Down 89.9%, Down 86.3%
5. Turkey … $52,000 - Down 79.9%, Up from nil in 2003
6. Mexico … $103.5 million - Down 72.7%, Up 616.2%
7. Zimbabwe … $5.8 million - Down 65.2%, Up from nil in 2003
8. France … $1.6 million - Down 63.4%, Up 251.5%
9. Argentina … $12.3 million - Down 62.9%, Down 26.8%
10. Swaziland … $5.6 million – Down 60.2%, Down 19%.

Of the 60 countries that supply imported sugar to the U.S., forty sugar-exporting nations saw their sales fall last year.

References

This article presents independent calculations and insights based on data drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau – Foreign Trade Statistics.

Dolly with imported sugar package shipments

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