ICUMSA is an acronym for the International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis. This is an international body which oversees the policies and works of national committees for sugar analysis in thirty countries in the interests of attaining and maintaining global standards for sugar analysis.

Works carried out by the member nations are headed by referees, and new methods are recommended to ICUMSA. If they pass muster, ICUMSA will accord a method official status. The method then becomes approved for use in all member nations.

ICUMSA ratings themselves are units which represent the purity of sugar. They are defined by colormetric analysis, as sugar purity can be accurately determined by color. Tristimulus colorimeters are most often used for the determination of ICUMSA ratings, these must be calibrated by an approved professional if their ratings are to be official.

Not all ICUMSA units are the same however. Brazilian ICUMSA ratings reflect a higher purity with lower numbers, however EU ICUMSA ratings reflect a higher purity with a higher number. The Brazilian ICUMSA ratings methodology is the more commonly used of the two in international sugar trading.

Under the Brazilian system of ICUMSA ratings, ICUMSA 45 sugar is the highest grade of sugar, being pure sparkling white in color, and as sugar becomes less refined, the ratings go higher and higher. Other common Brazilian ICUMSA ratings are ICUMSA 100, and ICUMSA 150, representing white sugar which is refined but does not have the high purity of ICUMSA 45. ICUMSA 800 is the highest rating approved for human consumption, however ICUMSA 800 is effectively raw sugar.

EU ICUMSA ratings are entirely different, with ICUMSA 42 being representative of raw sugar. Traders therefore need to verify whether ICUMSA ratings are being quoted according to the Brazilian or EU standards, as the two can easily be confused.

The term ‘RBU’ is often used in connection with ICUMSA ratings. ‘RBU’ refers to ‘reference base units’. ‘RBU’ can be a fairly meaningless expression if one is unsure as to the base units being referenced in the first place. Many major traders and buyers have their own particular base unit to which one needs to be privy in order for quoted numbers to make sense.

In addition to these methods of identifying the purity of sugar, the British also have their own system, TU Units. TU Units are based on Ash Points, Reflectance Grade Colour, Solution Color, and Filtered Colour. If one is planning to deal extensively with British traders and buyers, familiarizing oneself with TU units would be useful, but by and large a thorough understanding of ICUMSA ratings will be sufficient.

We supply Icumsa 45 Sugar (Highest grade by Brazilian standards)

Please contact us and let us know your detailed requirements. We will get back to you with current product availability and price quote shortly

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Refined Sugar

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In many respects, the words ’sugar’ and ‘Brazil’ are practically synonymous. 40% of the world’s sugar exports are made up of Brazilian sugar, and Brazil produces almost 30 million tons of sugar every year for both domestic consumption and sale abroad. Brazilians also love their sugar at a national level, consuming more than fifty kilograms of sugar per person every year.

The bulk of Brazilian sugar is grown in the Sao Paulo region, a large, flat, fertile region which is very well suited to growing sugar cane. As demand for sugar, and other sugar cane products has grown in recent years, sugar cane cultivation in this region has exploded to new levels, prompting concerns about the impact the many plantations, mills, and refineries have on the environment.

The other major sugar cane growing region exists in the northern reaches of the country in the states of Algolas and Pernambuco which are not quite as fertile and which contain much rougher terrain. These states are the historical homes of sugar production in Brazil however, as it was in these regions that the Dutch set up the first sugar cane plantations and boiling houses using slave labor in the early 16th century.

Making Brazilian Sugar

Modern sugar production has progressed in leaps and bounds, and technology has replaced slave labor. Brazil has been at the forefront of development in the sugar industry for many years, sequencing the sugar cane genome, developing over 100 strains of sugar cane, and devising milling and refining methods that are so advanced that mills and refineries are often able to sell excess energy back on to the national grid rather than pay for power with which to conduct their operations.

Brazil was also the inventor of VHP raw sugar, a raw sugar product with a minimum sucrose content of 99.4% . Prior to the invention of VHP raw sugar, raw cane juice would be boiled or evaporated until all that was left was a dark brown natural sugar product full of contaminants and mixed with molasses. This raw sugar required a great deal of processing to refine it into the sparkling white ICUMSA 45 sugar which has gained dominion throughout most of the developed world as a sweetener of choice.

VHP sugar, on the other hand, is made by processing the raw cane juice by boiling it until the solution is concentrated enough for sucrose crystals to form, allowing the juice to cool so that the crystals do form, and then centrifuging the solution and the crystals. During the centrifugal process, the crystals are separated from the remaining liquid content, which is molasses. The molasses drawn off in the first centrifugal process are called ‘first molasses’, and still contain a significant amount of sugar. These molasses are then put through the entire process once more. The sugar crystals produced at each stage of the process are a light brown color and are what is called ‘VHP sugar’. Though still raw, they contain less contamination, and can be refined much more quickly and easily than traditional raw sugar. It is no surprise then that the bulk of Brazil’s sugar exports are in the form of VHP sugar.

Purchasing Brazilian Sugar

Brazilian sugar is traded on futures markets, and also on various commodities exchanges. Brokers are also often a good source of sugar, especially if one is looking to purchase on a spot price basis. Spot sugar trading involves the buyer purchasing relatively small amounts of sugar at the current market rate for immediate shipment. Larger orders are usually not subject to spot trading, but are purchased from suppliers at negotiated prices and are often shipped over a period of months.

It is quite common for sugar to be sold before it is actually produced, and in the case of large orders it is fairly standard practice for a supplier to have a deal with a mill whereby the mill is contracted to produce a certain amount of sugar over certain period of time. This sugar is then transported to the port of departure on a monthly schedule and subsequently sent to the buyer who makes payment once each shipment is confirmed.

As has been mentioned, the bulk of Brazil’s exports are VHP raw sugar, however ICUMSA 150, 100, and 45 sugar shipments are also sometimes available. One should be wary of suppliers promising unrealistically large amounts of refined sugar, as these are likely to be scam deals. Most of the refined sugar produced in Brazil stays in Brazil for local consumption, and whilst smaller amounts of ICUMSA 45 are sometimes available, the bulk of export ICUMSA 45 is sold ahead of time, so newcomers to the market should be aware of these logistical restrictions before proceeding with any deals which seem to good to be true.

Refined Sugar Exporters

We export sugar directly from Brazilian sugar mills. Please contact us through below contact form and let us know your detailed requirements. We will get back to you with sugar availability and price quotation shortly

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Refined Sugar

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