Sugar Price Today:How to Track & Understand Wholesale Sugar Prices
- wholesale sugar suppliers
- Mar 6
- 13 min read
If you have ever searched for the sugar price today and landed on a commodity chart showing 13 US cents per pound, you may have wondered what that number actually means for a bulk buyer negotiating a $450 per metric ton quote from a Brazilian exporter. The two figures are related — but they are not the same thing, and confusing them costs buyers money.
This guide is the practical field manual for importers and procurement managers who need to track wholesale sugar prices in real time. You will learn which price benchmarks matter, which platforms to use, how to read ICE No.11 futures data as a physical buyer, and how to convert the numbers you see online into meaningful procurement intelligence.
Related reading: For current benchmark prices across all grades and origins, plus the full supply and demand context behind today's market, see our Global Sugar Market Guide: Prices, Trends and Forecasts for Bulk Buyers |
1. Why 'Sugar Price Today' Means Different Things to Different Buyers
There is no single sugar price. There are several interconnected prices operating in parallel, and which one is relevant to you depends on what grade you are buying, from which origin, in what volume, and under which contract terms. Before you open a price tracker, you need to know which price you are actually tracking.
Price Type | What It Is | Exchange / Location | Unit | Q1 2026 Level | Relevance for Buyers |
ICE No.11 (SB) | Raw sugar futures | New York ICE | USc per pound | ~13.7c/lb ($302/MT equiv.) | Global raw benchmark; sets the floor for all physical prices |
ICE No.5 (SW) | White sugar futures | London ICE | USD per MT | ~$420 to $430/MT | White sugar benchmark; No.11 to No.5 spread = refining premium |
FOB Santos | Physical ICUMSA 45 | Brazil export | USD per MT | ~$430 to $480/MT | Actual price paid to Brazilian exporter at port of loading |
CIF NW Europe | Physical ICUMSA 45 | Landed cost | USD per MT | ~$490 to $560/MT | FOB plus freight and insurance; total cost before import duty |
Spot containerised | Physical small volume | Various origins | USD per MT | +$20 to $40 over bulk FOB | Container surcharge for buyers under 100 MT; paid over bulk FOB |
Q1 2026 levels are indicative. Physical FOB and CIF prices are indicative ranges — actual contract prices vary by volume, payment terms, origin, and certification requirements.
The critical distinction for most buyers: ICE No.11 is a futures contract for raw sugar. ICUMSA 45 is refined white sugar — a different product requiring significant additional processing. The price gap between No.11 raw equivalent and physical ICUMSA 45 FOB is the white premium, and it moves independently of the futures price itself. A buyer tracking only No.11 is watching one layer of a multi-layer pricing structure.
2. The ICE No.11 Futures Contract: What It Is and How to Read It
The ICE Sugar No.11 futures contract, traded on ICE Futures U.S. in New York under the ticker SB, is the global raw sugar benchmark. It prices the physical delivery of raw cane sugar with a minimum polarisation of 96 degrees, FOB the receiver's vessel at a port in the country of origin. Despite pricing raw sugar, No.11 is the reference point from which all other sugar prices — including ICUMSA 45 — are ultimately derived.
Key contract facts for physical buyers
Ticker: SB on ICE Futures U.S.; use SB1! on TradingView for the continuous front-month chart
Price unit: US cents per pound (USc/lb) — must be converted to USD/MT for physical procurement
Contract size: 112,000 pounds per contract, equivalent to approximately 50.8 metric tonnes
Trading months: March (H), May (K), July (N), October (V) — four delivery windows per year
Trading hours: ICE Futures U.S. electronic session: 03:30 to 14:00 Eastern Time
Current level (Q1 2026): Around 13.7 to 14.0 USc/lb — a multi-year low driven by the confirmed global surplus
Reading the futures curve: what the shape tells you
Each delivery month has its own price, forming what traders call the futures curve. When later months are priced higher than nearer months, the market is in contango — meaning it expects prices to drift modestly higher over time but sees no urgent supply shortage. The current curve structure in Q1 2026 is gently contango, which is consistent with a well-supplied market and rising global end-stocks.
Contract Month | Position in Curve | Indicative Price (USc/lb) | Relevance for Physical Buyers |
March 2026 (H26) | Front month (nearby) | ~13.7c/lb | Highest liquidity; used for immediate procurement benchmarking |
May 2026 (K26) | 2nd month | ~14.0c/lb | Small contango vs March; near-term supply expectations priced in |
July 2026 (N26) | 3rd month | ~14.3c/lb | Post-crush transition; watch for Brazilian harvest news impact |
October 2026 (V26) | 4th month | ~14.6c/lb | New crop delivery period; key for 6-month forward procurement |
March 2027 (H27) | Deferred contract | ~15.1c/lb | Forward buyers lock in 12-month supply at a known price level |
Prices are indicative as of early March 2026 and change continuously during trading hours. Source: ICE Futures U.S. / Barchart.com / TradingView.
How to use the curve for procurement: If your delivery is scheduled for July 2026, benchmark against the July contract (N26), not the March front-month. Front-month charts are what most websites display prominently and they can mislead buyers contracting for forward delivery windows.
3. The Best Free Tools to Track Sugar Prices in Real Time
You do not need a paid Bloomberg or Refinitiv terminal to track the sugar market effectively as a physical buyer. The combination of free tools below covers everything you need to monitor prices, understand fundamentals, and time procurement decisions with confidence:
Tool | Type | What It Shows | Best For | URL | Cost |
TradingView (SB1!) | Live futures chart | No.11 real-time price, volume, open interest, technical indicators | Daily price monitoring and trend analysis | Free (basic) | |
Barchart.com (SB*0) | Futures quotes | Front-month and full curve, settlement prices, signals, news | Comparing contract months, checking settlements | Free | |
Multi-market data | No.11 and No.5 white sugar quotes, news, economic calendar | Broad market context alongside sugar prices | Free | ||
ICE Futures (theice.com) | Official exchange data | Official specs, settlement prices, volume, open interest, rules | Confirming official settlement price for contracts | Free (delayed) | |
USDA FAS PSD Online | Supply-demand database | Global production, consumption, trade and stocks by country | Fundamental analysis; not live prices | Free | |
USDA ERS Sugar Outlook | Government reports | US sugar supply, demand, prices and sweetener market outlook | US market context and policy-driven price signals | Free | |
Unica (unica.com.br) | Brazil crop data | Fortnightly Brazil Centre-South crush and sugar-ethanol split | Most market-moving free data during crush season | Free | |
Refinitiv / LSEG Eikon | Professional terminal | Full curves, physical assessments, news, COT positioning | Professional traders and procurement at large scale | Paid | |
StoneX / Czapp | Analyst platform | Supply-demand models, forecasts, trade flow analysis | In-depth modelling for strategic procurement teams | Subscription |
Free tools are sufficient for most physical buyers. Paid platforms like Refinitiv/LSEG Eikon, StoneX, and Czapp are worth the investment for procurement teams managing multi-million dollar annual sugar spend — even a $5/MT improvement on a 5,000 MT order saves $25,000.
The minimum viable tracking stack for physical buyers
You do not need all nine tools. Most physical buyers get 90 percent of the intelligence they need from three sources used consistently:
1. TradingView SB1! (daily): Set up a daily chart of the ICE No.11 front-month contract. Check it every morning before any supplier call or negotiation. Know whether the market is up or down on the week and month — this gives you immediate context when any supplier quote arrives.
2. Unica fortnightly crush report (seasonal): During Brazil's crush season from April to November, this is the single most market-moving free data release in global sugar. Set calendar reminders for each Unica release date. A crush figure above year-ago is bearish for prices; below year-ago is bullish.
3. USDA FAS biannual report (May and November): The most comprehensive free supply-demand dataset available. Read the production and ending stocks numbers for Brazil, India, and Thailand. These set the medium-term price direction that underlies all short-term price moves.
Cross-link: How futures affect your physical price The relationship between ICE No.11 and the physical price you pay is not one-to-one. For a full explanation of how futures contracts work, what open interest signals, and how the No.11 to No.5 spread affects ICUMSA 45 pricing, see our article: Sugar Futures Explained: How NY11 Contracts Affect Physical Sugar Prices — wholesalesugarsuppliers.com/post/sugar-futures-ny11-explained |
4. Price Conversion: From USc/lb to USD/MT to Real Procurement Cost
The unit mismatch between how sugar is quoted on exchanges (USc/lb) and how it is traded physically (USD/MT) is one of the most common sources of confusion for buyers new to the market. Converting accurately — and understanding what gets added above the futures price — is a core procurement skill.
Conversion | Method | Example (Q1 2026) |
USc/lb to USD/MT | Multiply USc/lb by 22.0462 | 13.71 USc/lb x 22.0462 = $302.25/MT raw sugar equivalent |
Raw to white sugar equiv. | Add refining premium ($70 to $100/MT) | $302.25 + $85 refining premium = approx. $387 to $402/MT white equiv. |
USD/MT to GBP/MT | Divide by current USD/GBP rate | At 0.79 GBP/USD: $450/MT = approx. GBP 355.50/MT |
USD/MT to EUR/MT | Divide by current USD/EUR rate | At 0.92 EUR/USD: $450/MT = approx. EUR 414/MT |
Per MT to per kg | Divide price by 1,000 | $450/MT = $0.45/kg or 45 cents per kilogram |
Per MT to per 50kg bag | Divide price by 20 | $450/MT = $22.50 per 50kg bag before other costs |
Practical example for a UK importer: ICE No.11 at 13.71 USc/lb converts to approximately $302/MT raw equivalent. Add the white premium ($75 to $90) to reach the white sugar equivalent of around $377 to $392/MT. Add Brazilian exporter margin and port logistics ($35 to $55) to arrive at FOB Santos of $430 to $450/MT for ICUMSA 45. Add freight to the UK ($55 to $70) and marine insurance ($4) to reach CIF Tilbury of approximately $490 to $524/MT before import duty. This is the total landed cost — the number that actually matters for your margin calculations.
5. The Reports Calendar: When the Market-Moving Data Drops
Sugar prices are fundamentally driven by supply and demand data, not just trader sentiment. Knowing when key reports are published — and reading them before the market fully prices them in — gives physical buyers a measurable timing advantage when deciding whether to buy spot or forward.
Report / Source | Frequency | What It Covers | Where to Find It | Why It Matters |
Unica (Brazil) | Fortnightly (Apr to Nov) | Brazil Centre-South crush, sugar-ethanol split, daily rate | Highest impact free data source during crush season | |
USDA FAS Sugar World Markets and Trade | Biannual (May and November) | Global production, consumption, trade and ending stocks | Most comprehensive free supply-demand dataset available | |
USDA ERS Sugar and Sweeteners Outlook | Monthly | US market supply, demand, price forecasts and policy | Essential for US importers and North American buyers | |
CFTC COT Report (Commitments of Traders) | Weekly (Fridays) | Speculative vs commercial positioning on ICE No.11 futures | Signals when funds are over-positioned; precedes reversals | |
ISO (International Sugar Organisation) | Quarterly and annual | Global supply-demand balances, price assessments, commentary | Long-term fundamental analysis; authoritative but slow-moving | |
StoneX / Czapp / Green Pool | Monthly (subscription) | Supply-demand models, price forecasts, trade flow analysis | Best analytical forecasts; requires subscription for full access |
The CFTC COT report is released every Friday afternoon, covering positions as of the previous Tuesday. Extreme speculative short positioning — as seen throughout late 2025 and into early 2026, with non-commercial net short positions at their most extreme in 18 years — historically precedes short-covering rallies that temporarily lift physical prices before fundamentals reassert direction.
How to use COT positioning as a physical buyer
The CFTC Commitments of Traders report shows how speculative funds (non-commercials) and commercial hedgers (producers, merchants, processors) are positioned in the No.11 futures market. In early 2026, fund positioning shows a historically extreme net short, with commercial hedgers holding a near-record net long of over 128,000 contracts.
Practical implication: When funds are extremely net short, they eventually need to buy back those contracts — triggering price rallies even when physical fundamentals remain bearish. This creates temporary windows where physical prices spike, then revert. Buyers who understand this dynamic can avoid the spike by purchasing on the dip rather than reacting to the rally.
6. The No.11 to No.5 Spread: Why White Sugar Tracks Differently to Raw
The ICE No.5 White Sugar futures contract, traded in London and priced in USD per metric ton, is the benchmark for refined white sugar internationally. The price difference between No.11 (raw) and No.5 (white) — known as the white premium or the whites-raws differential — reflects the cost and margin of refining. It is a key number for ICUMSA 45 buyers to monitor.
What the spread tells you about white sugar supply
In a balanced market, the white premium runs at $60 to $100 per MT. When the premium narrows, it signals that refined white sugar supply is ample relative to demand — meaning refineries are running hard and white sugar buyers have pricing power. When the premium widens, it signals a shortage of refining capacity or unusually strong white sugar demand.
In Q1 2026, the No.5 trades at approximately $420 to $430 per MT while No.11 equivalent sits around $302 per MT raw value, implying a white premium of approximately $118 to $128 per MT — slightly wider than historical norms. This means that even as the raw sugar market is deeply oversupplied, refined ICUMSA 45 is not seeing the same degree of price weakness. Buyers should factor this into expectations when comparing FOB quotes to the No.11 chart.
7. What Today's Price Level Means: Q1 2026 Market Context
A raw price number is much more useful when you understand what it means relative to history and to the underlying fundamentals driving it.
Where prices stand relative to history
ICE No.11 at 13.7 USc/lb in early March 2026 is the lowest level since October 2020. The 5-year average sits around 18 to 20 USc/lb. Physical ICUMSA 45 FOB Santos at $430 to $480 per MT represents a 20 to 25 percent discount to the 2023 peak prices of $550 to $620 per MT. For procurement managers with budget memory from the past two years, the current market represents a significant cost improvement opportunity.
Why prices are at these levels
The surplus is the driver. Brazil produced a record harvest in 2024/25 and is forecast for another in 2025/26. India's production has rebounded 26 percent year-on-year. Global ending stocks are forecast to rise 4.1 million tonnes to 42.4 million tonnes in 2025/26. With demand growth remaining flat in OECD markets, there is no fundamental catalyst for a sustained price recovery in the near term.
What this means for procurement timing
The current price environment is the most buyer-favourable in five years. Buyers with procurement flexibility should either buy spot at current competitive prices or lock in 3 to 6 month forward contracts while No.11 is near its floor. For a full price forecast through to 2027 and analyst consensus on when the market may recover, see our Sugar Market Forecast 2026: Supply, Demand and Price Outlook — wholesalesugarsuppliers.com/post/sugar-market-forecast-2026
Key prices to know right now (Q1 2026) ICE No.11 (SB1!): approx. 13.7 USc/lb | ICUMSA 45 FOB Santos: approx. $430 to $480/MT | ICUMSA 45 CIF NW Europe: approx. $490 to $560/MT | ICE No.5 White Sugar: approx. $420 to $430/MT | Check TradingView (SB1!) or Barchart.com (SB*0) for today's live settlement price. |
8. A Simple Daily and Weekly Price Monitoring Routine
Consistency matters more than complexity when tracking commodity markets. A focused 15-minute daily routine is more valuable than infrequent deep-dives. Here is a practical framework procurement managers can implement immediately:
Daily — 5 minutes
Open TradingView SB1! and note overnight direction and percentage change versus the previous session.
Check Barchart SB*0 for the current session's settlement and whether there is any market-moving news in the feed.
Scan headline news for anything affecting Brazil, India, or global freight — weather alerts, government announcements, geopolitical developments.
Weekly — 15 to 20 minutes
Review the weekly SB1! chart on TradingView — is the market making higher lows or lower highs? Know your trend direction.
Check the CFTC COT report on Fridays for changes in speculative and commercial positioning versus the prior week.
Monitor open interest: rising open interest with falling prices confirms ongoing bearish pressure; rising open interest with rising prices signals bullish momentum building.
During Brazilian crush season — April to November
Set calendar reminders for each Unica fortnightly report. Check actual vs year-ago and vs market expectations immediately on release.
Track the sugar-ethanol split in every Unica report — a shift toward higher ethanol output tightens sugar supply and is a bullish price signal.
Monitor cumulative crush vs prior year. By August, if cumulative output is tracking significantly above year-ago, the market will price in further downside.
Biannually — USDA FAS reports in May and November
Read the full USDA FAS Sugar World Markets and Trade report. Note revisions to Brazil, India, and global ending stocks versus the prior forecast.
Compare USDA supply-demand numbers against Czapp and StoneX analyst estimates. Large divergences signal where the market may be mispriced.
Update your procurement strategy: does the new fundamental picture support continued spot buying or does it argue for locking in forward contracts?
Time-saving setup Create a free Google Alert for 'sugar futures price', 'Unica crush report', and 'USDA sugar outlook' to receive headline news by email without active checking. Add a weekly Friday calendar reminder to check the CFTC COT data at cftc.gov/MarketReports/CommitmentsofTraders. |
9. Five Common Mistakes When Tracking Wholesale Sugar Prices
These are the most frequent errors buyers make when trying to track the sugar market — each of which leads to either overpaying or missing procurement windows:
Mistake 1: Treating No.11 futures as the physical price
ICE No.11 at 13.7 USc/lb is not the price of ICUMSA 45 in USD per MT. It is the raw sugar futures price, before the white premium, export logistics, freight, and inspection costs are added. Always convert using the formula in Section 4 and add the relevant premiums before benchmarking a supplier quote against a futures chart.
Mistake 2: Benchmarking the wrong contract month
If your delivery is in July 2026, the March 2026 front-month contract shown on most websites is not your benchmark — the July (N26) contract is. Buying on a futures price from the wrong delivery month can lead to materially incorrect cost expectations.
Mistake 3: Ignoring the No.5 white sugar contract
Most commodity websites highlight No.11 raw sugar because it is the most actively traded. For buyers of ICUMSA 45 and refined grades, the ICE No.5 London white sugar contract is the more direct benchmark. The No.11 to No.5 spread is itself a market signal that should be monitored alongside absolute price levels.
Mistake 4: Using only one data source
Sugar prices are driven by fundamentals — production, consumption, stocks, policy. Futures prices react to these fundamentals but can diverge on speculative flows for weeks at a time. Buyers who track only the futures chart miss the supply-demand context that explains why prices are at their current level and where they are likely to go. Use at least three sources: futures price, USDA supply-demand data, and Brazilian crop data.
Mistake 5: Not tracking the BRL/USD exchange rate
Brazil prices its sugar production costs in Brazilian reals but sells internationally in USD. When the real weakens against the dollar, Brazilian exporters receive more BRL revenue per USD of export price — which incentivises higher export volumes and suppresses global physical prices. A buyer tracking only No.11 and missing a significant BRL currency move may be surprised by sudden supplier pricing changes that futures charts did not predict.
Want Current ICUMSA 45 Prices from Verified Exporters?
Tracking the market gives you intelligence — but securing the best price requires direct access to verified exporters who price competitively. Our team at Wholesale Sugar Suppliers monitors the market daily and works with producers across Brazil, India, and Thailand to provide transparent, competitive FOB and CIF pricing for buyers at every volume level.
Contact us today to request a current market quote for ICUMSA 45 or any other grade — minimum enquiry 25 MT. We respond within 24 hours.
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