Browse Data and Analysis

Post expects Brazil to remain the world's largest producer of sugarcane and sugar in marketing year (MY) 2025/26. Total sugarcane production is forecast at 671 million metric tons (MMT), and total sugar production is forecast at 44.7 MMT, raw value.

Sugar cane production in MY 2026 is forecast at 10.25 million metric tons while cane sugar production is forecast to reach 1.3 MMT. Sugar exports from Peru in MY 2026 are forecast at 150,000 MT while the United States is the principal destination under the U.S. sugar tariff-rate quota program.

Aquaculture production in 2023 declined steeply to 105,091 metric tons (MT), a 25.43% decrease from 2022. The Peruvian aquaculture industry exported 4.5 million MT in 2023, a decrease of 12.56% from 2022 levels.

The Brazilian Food Processors' Association reported 2024 Brazilian food processing sector revenues at US$233 billion, a growth of 9.9 percent compared to the previous year.

Brazil’s corn planted area and production for MY 2025/26 are expected to increase. Low stocks and strong demand led corn prices to high levels in the domestic market, growing producers’ sowing outlooks.

For MY 2025/26, Post forecasts cotton area to grow 2.9 percent compared to the current season, to 2.13 million hectares. Post also forecasts cotton production at a record 17.8 million bales (3.87 million metric tons (MMT)).

Peru boasts a thriving food processing industry that plays a crucial role in its economy. This sector contributes approximately 27 percent to the country's industrial gross domestic product.

Brazil is the second-largest chicken meat producer in the world after the United States and the largest chicken meat exporter in the world.

Post forecasts that Brazilian producers will expand soybean planted area to 48.2 million hectares (ha) in the 2025/26 season, up from an estimated 47.3 million ha in 2024/25.

Wheat production in MY 2025/2026 (July-June) is forecast at 217,000 metric tons (MT), reflecting a slight increase compared to the previous year's estimate. Wheat imports in MY 2025/2026 are forecast at 2.2 MMT.

Brazil is the second largest beef producing country and the largest beef exporting country in the world. Post expects decreased slaughter in 2025, due to the forecast start of the reversion of the cattle cycle.

In 2023, Peru was the 28th-largest market for U.S. agricultural exports, valued at $851 million, making it the 3rd-largest market in South America. The U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA) entered into force in February 2009, and U.S. agricultural exports reached $1 billion for the first time in 2014, peaking at $1.36 billion in 2018. The United States accounts for 14 percent of Peru's agricultural import market share, positioning it as the second-largest supplier to the country.