The FAO Sugar Price Index was measured at 111.2 points for January 2025. 2023 saw the highest prices since 2011. The combined impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and high inflation rates likely contributed to increasing prices in past years. Global sugar price In 2024, the global sugar price is forecast to decrease by more than ten percent, as compared to 2023. In general, the total sugar consumption worldwide has gradually increased during the last 12 years. In 2010/11, the global consumption of sugar amounted to about 156 million metric tons. By 2023/24, it had increased to about 177 million metric tons. However, the market value of the global sugar industry has fluctuated over the years. In 2012, the global sugar manufacturing industry was valued at over 113 billion U.S. dollars, compared to just under 78 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. Global sugar exports Total global sugar exports amount to more than 68 million metric tons per year. The leading sugar-exporting country worldwide is Brazil. The South American country is the world’s largest sugar producer and accounts for about half of the entire global sugar exports. Thailand and India are the countries with the second and third most sugar exports worldwide. Those two countries export about 10 and 4.6 million metric tons of sugar per year, respectively. The main importer of sugar worldwide is Indonesia. The Southeast Asian country imports approximately five million metric tons of sugar. The United States ranks in third place, with sugar imports of about 3.1 million metric tons of sugar annually.

In 2019, Venezuela’s estimated gross domestic product (GDP) per capita dropped to 2,624.41 U.S. dollars from 3,529.72 U.S. dollars the year before. the country's GDP has been on a continuous downswing for about a decade now - in 2010, it amounted to more than 11,000 U.S. dollars, and seemed to recover from a sudden slump again in 2016, before decreasing rapidly ever since. GDP per capita is a measurement of a country’s economic output that accounts for its number of people, thus making it a good measurement of a country’s standard of living.

A time of economic hardships

Currently, a major economic crisis is shaking Venezuela, resulting in hyperinflation, food and water shortages, and unemployment. Venezuela’s inflation rate has skyrocketed to over 900,000 percent in 2018, and the economy is suffering, with the Venezuelan GDP growth decreasing substantially each year since 2014.

A population affected by instability

In response to the economic and political climate, many are leaving the country for places such as Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador, with hopes for more stability and better economic prospects. Due in part to this, Venezuela’s population growth has decreased consistently over the last five years: In 2019, the country’s population was around 28 million inhabitants - a figure that is estimated to decrease further in the future.