Botswana Cane Sugar Import Market -- HS Code 1701 Trade Data & Price Trend (Sep 2025)

Botswana Cane Sugar Import (HS 1701) Key Takeaways

Botswana’s cane sugar imports under HS Code 1701 in September 2025 were dominated by raw, bulk-grade product, with 97% of supply controlled by a handful of large-scale regional suppliers like Tongaat Hulett. South Africa and Zimbabwe accounted for nearly two-thirds of imports, exposing strategic vulnerability to regional disruptions. Prices fell to $0.76 per kg amid global oversupply, though import volumes surged, signaling resilient demand. Buyers hold pricing power due to standardized commodity sourcing but face high concentration risks in both suppliers and origins. This analysis is based on cleanly processed customs data from the yTrade database for September 2025.

Botswana Cane Sugar Import (HS 1701) Background

What is HS Code 1701?

HS Code 1701 covers cane or beet sugar, a globally traded commodity essential for food processing, beverage production, and household consumption. Its demand remains stable due to its role as a staple sweetener across industries. Botswana’s reliance on imports under this code reflects its limited domestic sugar production capacity.

Current Context and Strategic Position

Recent U.S. trade policy shifts, including Executive Order 14257 (April 2025), have modified reciprocal tariff rates, potentially impacting global sugar trade dynamics [The White House]. Botswana’s cane sugar import market is strategically significant, with Tongaat Hulett (Botswana) accounting for over 60% of HS Code 1701 imports [Tendata]. This concentration underscores the need for vigilance in monitoring Botswana’s trade dependencies and policy responses to global tariff adjustments.

Botswana Cane Sugar Import (HS 1701) Price Trend

Key Observations

In September 2025, Botswana's cane sugar imports under HS code 1701 were valued at 6.01 million USD, with a unit price of $0.76 per kg, reflecting a period of increased volume but lower pricing.

Price and Volume Dynamics

The Botswana Cane Sugar Import trend exhibited significant volatility throughout 2025, with unit prices declining from a March peak of $0.95 per kg to the September low, while import weights generally rose, peaking at 7.86 million kg in September. Sequentially, the value dipped slightly from August's 6.30 million USD, despite higher volume, indicating price pressure likely driven by global supply increases or seasonal harvest cycles. The reciprocal tariff modifications announced by the White House in late July [The White House] may have contributed to this compression by altering import cost structures. The hs code 1701 value trend shows resilience in demand, with volume recovering strongly after a July slump, suggesting market adaptation to external policy shifts and supply dynamics.

Botswana Cane Sugar Import (HS 1701) HS Code Breakdown

Product Specialization and Concentration

According to yTrade data for September 2025, Botswana's import of HS Code 1701 is heavily concentrated in raw cane sugar, which accounts for over half the total import value. The dominant product is raw cane sugar not containing added flavoring or coloring matter, making up 51% of the weight and 51% of the value. This product trades at a unit price of $0.76 per kilogram, which is consistent with bulk commodity pricing. A minor but notable anomaly exists: a small volume of chemically pure sucrose with added flavoring or coloring matter trades at a significantly higher price of $14.45 per kilogram, but this has been isolated from the main analysis due to its distinct market nature.

Value-Chain Structure and Grade Analysis

The non-anomalous imports under Botswana's HS Code 1701 are entirely composed of raw sugars in solid form without any additives, spanning cane and beet origins. These products are uniform in their lack of value-added processing—none contain added flavoring or coloring—and all trade within a narrow price band of $0.63 to $0.85 per kilogram. This structure confirms that Botswana's HS Code 1701 import is fundamentally a bulk commodity trade, where products are fungible and pricing is likely linked to global sugar indices rather than brand or product differentiation.

Strategic Implication and Pricing Power

For buyers in Botswana, this market structure implies strong negotiating power due to the standardized, commodity nature of the supply. The HS Code 1701 trade data shows no presence of higher-margin, finished products, so importers should focus on cost-efficient sourcing and logistical optimization rather than product differentiation. Pricing power resides with large-scale suppliers, but buyers can leverage competitive global markets to secure favorable terms.

Table: Botswana HS Code 1701) Breakdown Details (Source: yTrade)

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Botswana Cane Sugar Import (HS 1701) Origin Countries

Geographic Concentration and Dominant Role

South Africa is the clear leader in Botswana's cane sugar imports for September 2025. It supplied 41.1% of the total import value. Zimbabwe is the second largest source, providing 23.66% of the value. The significant gap between South Africa's value share (41.1%) and its weight share (33.98%) points to imports of higher-grade or more refined sugar products from this neighbor. In contrast, Zimbabwe's higher weight share (30.11%) compared to its value share (23.66%) indicates its role as a source of bulk, raw sugar.

Origin Countries Clusters and Underlying Causes

The top partners form two clear clusters. The first is a regional bulk and value cluster of South Africa and Zimbabwe, which together account for nearly two-thirds of the import value and weight. This highlights deep regional integration for this essential food commodity. A second cluster consists of smaller, transactional partners from within Africa (Mozambique, Eswatini) and beyond (UAE, Brazil, India). These countries have much lower shipment frequencies and contribute smaller shares, representing supplemental or niche sourcing to meet specific demand or fill gaps.

Forward Strategy and Supply Chain Implications

Botswana's cane sugar supply chain is heavily dependent on its two southern African neighbors. This creates a strategic vulnerability to any production shocks, policy changes, or logistics disruptions within the region. The data for HS Code 1701 shows a critical need to develop more diverse sourcing options to build resilience. Exploring potential from other sugar-producing nations like Brazil, even at a smaller scale, could help mitigate the risks of over-reliance on a narrow geographic base for this key import.

Table: Botswana Cane Sugar (HS 1701) Top Origin Countries (Source: yTrade)

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Botswana Cane Sugar (HS 1701) Suppliers Analysis

Supplier Concentration and Dominance

According to yTrade data, Botswana's Cane Sugar import supplier market in September 2025 was highly concentrated. One group of suppliers dominated, handling 97.83% of the total import value and 70.25% of all shipments. This core group moved 4.65 million units worth $5.88 million, defining the typical trade flow.

Strategic Supplier Clusters and Trade Role

The dominant suppliers are large-scale producers like Tongaat Hulett Sugar and Delta Food Ingredients Pty Ltd. The profile of HS code 1701 suppliers indicates a direct-to-factory sourcing model, bypassing trading intermediaries. A secondary cluster handled smaller, frequent shipments but contributed only 2.17% to total value, serving niche or urgent needs.

Sourcing Strategy and Vulnerability

Botswana's sugar supply chain faces high dependency risk with minimal supplier diversification. Strategic focus must include identifying backup suppliers to mitigate disruptions from the dominant players. The current model is efficient but vulnerable to production or logistics issues from a limited number of sources.

Table: Botswana Cane Sugar (HS 1701) Top Suppliers List (Source: yTrade)

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Action Plan for Cane Sugar Market Operation and Expansion

• Diversify sourcing beyond South Africa and Zimbabwe by using hs code 1701 trade data to identify and qualify new suppliers from countries like Brazil, mitigating the high geographic concentration risk in the Cane Sugar supply chain.
• Develop a formal backup supplier strategy targeting the smaller, frequent shippers identified in the data to ensure continuity for Botswana's Cane Sugar Import if major suppliers face disruptions.
• Leverage the standardized, bulk-commodity nature of the product to negotiate favorable long-term contracts based on global sugar indices, securing stable pricing for Botswana's Cane Sugar Import.
• Continuously monitor production and policy developments in South Africa and Zimbabwe using trade intelligence, as any regional shock would immediately impact the Cane Sugar supply chain for Botswana.

Take Action Now —— Explore Botswana Cane Sugar Import Data

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is driving the recent changes in Botswana Cane Sugar Import 2025 September?

Botswana's cane sugar imports saw declining unit prices (down to $0.76/kg) in September 2025, driven by global supply increases and seasonal harvest cycles, alongside potential impacts from reciprocal tariff modifications.

Q2. Who are the main origin countries of Botswana Cane Sugar (HS Code 1701) 2025 September?

South Africa (41.1% of import value) and Zimbabwe (23.66%) dominate, forming a regional bulk and value cluster, with smaller contributions from Mozambique, Eswatini, UAE, Brazil, and India.

Q3. Why does the unit price differ across origin countries of Botswana Cane Sugar Import?

South Africa’s higher value-to-weight ratio suggests refined sugar imports, while Zimbabwe’s bulk raw sugar trades at lower prices. The rare chemically pure sucrose variant ($14.45/kg) is an outlier excluded from the main analysis.

Q4. What should importers in Botswana focus on when buying Cane Sugar?

Prioritize cost-efficient sourcing and logistics optimization due to the commodity nature of raw sugar, while diversifying suppliers to mitigate risks from over-reliance on South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Q5. What does this Botswana Cane Sugar import pattern mean for overseas suppliers?

Suppliers from South Africa and Zimbabwe hold strategic leverage due to Botswana’s dependency, while niche players (e.g., Brazil, India) can target gaps in urgent or specialized demand.

Q6. How is Cane Sugar typically used in this trade flow?

Imported raw cane sugar (HS Code 1701) is primarily used as a bulk food commodity, with no value-added processing like flavoring or coloring, indicating direct industrial or consumer consumption.