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Nations produce
Nowadays, Brazil is one of the world's largest sugar producer and exporter. Brazilian sugar production rose from 13.8 million metric tons in 1995 to 23.6 million metric tons in 2002, representing nearly 17 percent of worldwide output Exports from South America's largest country more than doubled to 13.4 million metric tons during the same period.
'Of the 48 least and less-developed countries, 21 produce sugar, and Sudan has the largest sugar production among them'. The 600 million people living in the 48 nations have an average annual income of £191 - or 52 pence a day; their importing and exporting accounts for a mere 0.4 per cent of world trade. As far as global capitalism is concerned, they might as well be dead - and many soon will be. One of the world's lowest-cost sugar producers is Mozambique, where almost 75% of the rural population live in extreme poverty. Almost entirely shut out of the EU sugar market, Mozambique has lost the chance to earn an estimated 108m euros ($106m) from sales by 2004. The EU's annual development aid to Mozambique is 150m euros ($136m).