Sugar · importers
Morocco ranks fifteenth of 96 at $1.5B in the sugars and sugar confectionery chapter, and the chapter is sixteenth in its own import bill, a sign of how much sugar matters to the country.
| Market | HS 17 imports |
|---|---|
| United States | $7.2B |
| China | $4.2B |
| Indonesia | $3.6B |
| Germany | $2.6B |
| United Kingdom | $2.2B |
Figures are for the whole of HS chapter 17 (sugars and sugar confectionery); sugar is only part of it. Source: UN Comtrade, as reported by national authorities; latest available year per market.
The chapter is 1.5% of Morocco’s $98.0B imports and ranks 16th among import chapters, alongside electrical machinery at $11.9B, mineral fuels at $11.6B and vehicles at $10.5B. Sugar is a staple, consumed in large amounts with tea and in pastries, so imports carry real weight.
The ranking of fifteenth in the world table understates its domestic importance.
France is above at $1.5B and Spain below at $1.3B. Morocco’s 2.3% share of reported world imports is tied with France’s. Spain, China, France and the USA lead the overall source list, which covers all goods and shows close links with southern Europe. Contracts of this kind often run on repeat cargoes across a year, so an exporter who can show reliable past shipments to comparable buyers has an advantage over one who is new to the trade.
Morocco grows some cane and beet but relies on imported raw sugar for refining, which supplies household, industrial and export markets. A refinery buys raw sugar in bulk against a polarisation and colour specification, and it works to a supply schedule that keeps its plant running. Ask whether the importer is a refiner and how it schedules vessel arrivals.
Import conditions and price arrangements for sugar can be managed by the authorities and can change, so confirm the present position with them and with the buyer.
The $1.5B covers all of chapter 17, so confectionery is included, and re-exports can move a ranking.
Shipment records for the sugar heading name each consignee and cargo weight. Build a shortlist from them, settle Incoterm, currency, payment terms and port, and contact the companies through this site’s free marketplace.
Fifteenth of 96 markets at $1.5B in 2024, a 2.3% share of reported world imports.
It is 1.5% of $98.0B and ranks 16th among import chapters.
No. Moroccan totals include sugar confectionery next to raw and refined sugar.
Read sugar-heading shipment records and compare consignees by weight.
Keep exploring