Where can I grow sugarcane?
Saccharum officinarum · Sugar crop · Perennial
Sugarcane is a great fit (80+) on 21.0 million sq mi of land in 166 countries, 39% of it only with irrigation. The most well-suited land is in Pará, Brazil, Amazonas, Brazil and Bahia, Brazil. Where it can't grow, it's usually too cool overall (85%) and winters get too cold (15%).Sugarcane is a great fit (80+) on 54.4 million km² of land in 166 countries, 39% of it only with irrigation. The most well-suited land is in Pará, Brazil, Amazonas, Brazil and Bahia, Brazil. Where it can't grow, it's usually too cool overall (85%) and winters get too cold (15%).
- Great fit (80+)
- 21.0M sq mi54.4M km²
- 38% of land
- Worth a try (50–79)
- 2.8M sq mi7.3M km²
- 5% of land
- Great fit without irrigation
- 13.8M sq mi35.6M km²
- Rain alone is enough
- Countries
- 166
- With great-fit land
Regions with the most suitable land
- 1
- 2
🇧🇷Amazonas, Brazil
Great fit on 218k sq mi563k km² · worth a try on 300 sq mi800 km²
For example Manaus (100), Itacoatiara (100)
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
🇦🇺Queensland, Australia
Great fit on 47k sq mi123k km² · worth a try on 9,300 sq mi24k km²
For example Townsville (100), Cairns (100)
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
Regions are states and provinces, counting land within 75 km of a town. At most three per country, so the list covers the world.
By country
- 🇧🇷Brazil2.1M sq mi5.6M km² · 92% of its land
- 🇮🇳India974k sq mi2.5M km² · 79% of its land
- 🇮🇩Indonesia556k sq mi1.4M km² · 92% of its land
- 🇨🇩Democratic Republic of the Congo421k sq mi1.1M km² · 97% of its land
- 🇳🇬Nigeria344k sq mi891k km² · 100% of its land
- 🇲🇽Mexico335k sq mi867k km² · 54% of its land
- 🇹🇿Tanzania310k sq mi804k km² · 94% of its land
- 🇦🇴Angola268k sq mi695k km² · 94% of its land
- 🇸🇩Sudan255k sq mi661k km² · 100% of its land
- 🇪🇹Ethiopia243k sq mi629k km² · 75% of its land
Best-suited towns
- 100%Ideal
🇳🇬 Ondo State, Nigeria
- 100%Ideal
🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo
- 100%Ideal
🇨🇩 Équateur, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- 100%Ideal
🇨🇩 Tshopo, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- 100%Ideal
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
- 100%Ideal
🇨🇳 Hainan, China
- 100%Ideal
🇲🇽 Mexico
- 100%Ideal
🇳🇬 Ondo State, Nigeria
- 100%Ideal
🇧🇷 Sergipe, Brazil
- 100%Ideal
🇧🇷 Tocantins, Brazil
- 100%Ideal
🇹🇿 Zanzibar Urban/West, Tanzania
- 100%Ideal
🇨🇩 Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
The most comfortable fits among the 2,000 biggest towns, two per region. Scores assume irrigation where rain falls short; Needs irrigation marks towns that need it.
What sugarcane needs
- Average temperature
- Ideal 72–86°FIdeal 22–30°CWon't grow below 63°F or above 95°FWon't grow below 17°C or above 35°C
- Coldest night of the year (average)
- Ideal at least 36°FIdeal at least 2°CWon't grow below 27°FWon't grow below -3°C
- Frost-free days
- Ideal at least 300 daysWon't grow below 240 days
- Yearly rain
- Ideal 43–98 inIdeal 1,100–2,500 mmWon't grow below 24 in or above 157 inWon't grow below 600 mm or above 4,000 mm
A cooler, drier spell before harvest raises sugar content. Often irrigated.
Sources: FAO ECOCROP: Saccharum officinarum; FAO Crop Water Information: sugarcane.
What stops it elsewhere
- Too cool overall85%
- Winters get too cold15%
Share of the land scoring under 50, by what holds it back most.
How this map works
Every 28 km square of land is scored 0–100 against the requirements above, using 1991–2020 monthly climate averages with frost, chill and heat estimated by simulating daily weather. Each square is scored with whichever variety fits it best. “Irrigated” ignores rain shortfalls; “Rainfed” counts them. The map blends neighboring squares; tap anywhere to see everything that grows there.
Climate is only part of it: soil, slope, water and markets decide where a crop is actually farmed. Use this to shortlist places, then check them locally.