Buyer guide · updated 11 October 2026
VHP sugar from Brazil: specification, pricing basis and who buys it.
VHP, very high polarisation sugar, is almost all of the raw sugar Brazil makes: 30.4 million tonnes in 2025/26, against 0.14 million tonnes of demerara (MAPA, via USDA). Brazil’s agriculture ministry defines it as raw sugar with polarisation above 99.0°Z, and its standard allows colour up to 2,500 ICUMSA units. It is priced off the ICE No. 11 raw sugar contract and shipped in bulk. Brazil exported 29.5 million tonnes of raw sugar in 2025, 87% of its sugar exports, and the biggest buyers were China, India, Algeria, Bangladesh and Indonesia. VHP is sold on polarisation, not colour, so if you need white sugar for a food line or for retail, compare your specification with ICUMSA 45 or ICUMSA 150 first.
The specification
| Brazil’s standard (MAPA) | VHP | VVHP |
|---|---|---|
| Polarisation | above 99.0°Z | above 99.49°Z |
| Moisture, max | 0.25% | 0.15% |
| Colour, ICUMSA units, max | 2,500 | 1,000 |
| Ash, max | 0.25% | 0.15% |
You will often see VHP offered as “ICUMSA 600–1200”. We found no official standard behind that range. Brazil’s standard allows up to 2,500 units, the ICE No. 11 contract sets no colour limit at all, and Codex sets none for raw cane sugar. If colour matters to your refinery, put a number in the contract.
Buying raw sugar for a refinery? Send polarisation, quantity and discharge port.
Send a requirement →How it is priced: ICE No. 11
The reference futures contract for raw sugar is ICE Sugar No. 11 in New York, based on raw cane sugar of 96 degrees average polarisation, delivered in bulk, free on board and stowed on the receiver’s vessel. Higher polarisation earns a premium on the contract price:
- 1.00% at 97°;
- a further 1.25% from 97 to 98°, and 1.50% from 98 to 99°;
- 0.15% for each tenth of a degree from 99.0 to 99.3°.
The scale stops at 99.3°, so polarisation above that earns nothing more under the contract. ICE has also decided to raise the minimum polarisation for deliverable sugar from 95° to 97°, starting with the March 2028 contract; the 96° basis stays.
Who buys Brazilian raw sugar
| Destination, 2025 | Tonnes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| China | 4,741,947 | 16.1% |
| India | 2,629,686 | 8.9% |
| Algeria | 2,125,166 | 7.2% |
| Bangladesh | 2,081,095 | 7.1% |
| Indonesia | 1,934,086 | 6.6% |
| Saudi Arabia | 1,847,910 | 6.3% |
| UAE | 1,726,754 | 5.9% |
| Nigeria | 1,625,572 | 5.5% |
| Malaysia | 1,497,435 | 5.1% |
| Morocco | 1,474,081 | 5.0% |
Brazilian raw sugar exports under NCM 1701.14, calendar 2025. Trade data doesn’t say who the buyer is. USDA describes the VHP in the EU–Mercosur quota as raw cane sugar “for refining”, and the Gulf buyers on this list, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, take far more Brazilian raw sugar than white.
How it ships
Raw sugar under ICE No. 11 is delivered in bulk, and 99.97% of Brazil’s raw sugar exports in 2025 went by sea. Santos loaded 70.6% of it and Paranaguá 19.9%, with the rest almost all from Maceió, Imbituba, São Sebastião, Recife and Suape.
VHP or white sugar?
If you run a refinery, VHP is your raw material, and polarisation is the number to negotiate. If you sell to food factories or supermarkets, start from their specification: ICUMSA 45 is refined white sugar, and ICUMSA 150 is mill white. The three grades side by side shows how they differ.
Sources
- Ministério da Agricultura (MAPA), Instrução Normativa 47/2018, as amended by IN 60/2019, VHP and VVHP definitions and annex limits: https://sistemasweb.agricultura.gov.br/sislegis/action/detalhaAto.do?method=visualizarAtoPortalMapa&chave=2020932845
- ICE Futures U.S., Sugar No. 11 Rules, Rule 11.00(b), (d) and (e), rulebook dated 3 Apr 2026: https://www.ice.com/publicdocs/rulebooks/futures_us/11_Sugar_11.pdf
- ICE Futures U.S., Submission 25-49, amendments to Sugar No. 11 rules (minimum polarisation), 28 Mar 2025: https://www.ice.com/publicdocs/regulatory_filings/25-49_Amendments_to_Sugar_No._11_Rules.pdf
- ComexStat (MDIC), Brazilian exports of NCM 1701.14 by destination, mode and port, January–December 2025, retrieved 11 Oct 2026: https://comexstat.mdic.gov.br/
- USDA FAS GAIN, Brazil: Sugar Annual, BR2026-0020, 20 Apr 2026, including Table 6 (MAPA production by sugar type): https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileName=Sugar%20Annual_Brasilia_Brazil_BR2026-0020
- Codex Alimentarius, Standard for Sugars CXS 212-1999 (raw cane sugar has no colour limit): https://www.fao.org/input/download/standards/338/CXS_212e_u.pdf
Checked on 11 October 2026. Rules and web pages change; check the source before you rely on a detail.