Import rules · updated 10 October 2026
Importing Brazilian sugar into Mauritania: duty, permits and documents.
Mauritania was the largest destination for Brazil’s white sugar in 2025: 431,290 tonnes, worth 192.1 million US dollars. The customs duty on white sugar was 5% in the latest tariff data (2023), plus a 1% statistical charge and a 7.5% consumption tax on sugar. The WTO’s last review of Mauritania (2018) found no quantitative restriction on sugar imports and no pre-shipment inspection. That review is eight years old, so confirm the current rules with Mauritanian customs before you order.
Brazil’s sugar trade with Mauritania
Brazil exported 431,290 tonnes of white sugar (NCM 1701.99) to Mauritania in 2025, worth 192.1 million US dollars FOB, more than to any other country. It also shipped 2,771 tonnes of raw sugar. In 2018 the WTO recorded that Mauritania imported all the sugar it consumed; a local sugar project at Foum Gleita produced nothing in 2017.
Importing into Mauritania? Send your grade, quantity and discharge port. You pay the supplier directly, never me.
Send a requirement →Duty and taxes
| Charge | Rate | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty (droit fiscal d’importation) | 5% | WITS, 2023 |
| Statistical charge | 1% | WTO Trade Policy Review, 2018; PwC, Mar 2026 |
| Consumption tax on sugar | 7.5% | WTO Trade Policy Review, 2018; PwC, Mar 2026 |
| Minimum flat-rate tax (deductible against corporate tax) | 2.5% of CIF | WTO Trade Policy Review, 2018 |
| VAT | 16% standard rate; whether it applies to sugar is not confirmed | WTO Trade Policy Review, 2018; PwC, Mar 2026 |
Mauritania is not an ECOWAS member, so ECOWAS levies do not apply.
Permits and inspection
- In 2018 the authorities told the WTO that no quantitative restriction was applied to sugar.
- The SGS pre-shipment inspection programme ended in 2014; customs handles valuation itself.
- Stocks of essential goods, sugar included, must be declared.
What to confirm before you order
- The current duty and taxes, with Mauritanian customs. The newest official tariff line is from 2023. The 1% statistical charge, 7.5% sugar tax and 16% VAT were still listed in March 2026 (PwC).
- Labelling and any standards certificate for sugar. We found no official statement of either.
- Your discharge port, which the CIF price is built on.
Rules on this page were checked against the sources below on 10 October 2026. Duties, levies and permits change, sometimes by decree. Confirm every figure with Mauritania’s customs authority before you order. See all countries.
Know your permits and your port? That is everything I need to request a current supplier response.
Send a requirement →Sources
- ComexStat (MDIC), Brazilian exports by NCM 1701.99.00 and 1701.14.00, January–December 2025, via api-comexstat.mdic.gov.br, retrieved 29 Sep 2026
- World Bank WITS / UNCTAD TRAINS, MFN tariff for HS 170199, Mauritania, 2023: https://wits.worldbank.org/
- WTO, Trade Policy Review: Mauritania, WT/TPR/S/371, 24 Apr 2018: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/s371_e.pdf
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Mauritania, other taxes, reviewed 31 Mar 2026: https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/mauritania/corporate/other-taxes
Checked on 10 October 2026. Rules and web pages change; check the source before you rely on a detail.