News reaching CEOAFRICA.com is that a fire, Port authorities said began at around 06:00 local time (10:00 GMT) on a conveyor belt taking raw sugar into one of the warehouses in Brazil's largest port has burnt some 180,000 tonnes of raw sugar, damaging six warehouses.

According to source, the authorities in the port of Santos said it took six hours to bring the fire under control. The cause of the blaze is still being investigated.

Brazil is the world's main sugar exporter, accounting for nearly half of international sales.