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By Rafaella Barros and Marcelo Teixeira
SAO PAULO, Sept 13 (Reuters) – Brazil’s center-south (CS) region produced 3.13 million tonnes of sugar in the second half of August, 5.77% more than in the same period a year ago and more than the market expected, industry group Unica said in a report on Tuesday.
Mills crushed 44.02 million tonnes of sugarcane in the period, 1.79% more than last year, and also allocated more cane to make sugar than seen in the last season, a proportion of 48.4% versus 46.4%. As a result, there was less cane to produce ethanol, with output falling 1.23% to 2.25 billion liters (see tables).
Brazilian mills have been shifting more toward sugar production than ethanol as prices for the biofuel plunged in the country after heavy tax cuts on fuels, particularly gasoline.
Analysts estimate that every percentage point change in the production mix toward sugar means around 700,000 tonnes more of sugar production.
The market expected a bit less sugar (3.06 million tonnes) and more ethanol (2.26 billion liters) in the second half of August, according to a survey by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
The sugar mix at 48.4% was also above analysts’ estimates.
Despite the increased focus on sugar, cumulative production in the season still lags last year’s by 10% due to a late start to harvesting in 2022.
See below detailed figures from Unica’s crop report (cane and sugar in million tonnes, ethanol in billion liters, total recoverable sugar-TRS in kg per tonne):
BRAZIL’S CENTER-SOUTH – 2ND HALF AUG. (ANNUAL COMPARISON)
2021/22
2022/23
% CHANGE
CANE CRUSH
43.25
44.02
1.79
SUGAR OUTPUT
2.96
3.13
5.77
ETHANOL OUTPUT*
2.27
2.25
-1.23
TRS (kg/T)
154
154
0.0
CANE TO SUGAR
46.4%
48.4%
BRAZIL’S CENTER-SOUTH CROP CUMULATIVE DATA
2021/22
2022/23
% CHANGE
CANE CRUSH
393
366
-6.91
SUGAR OUTPUT
24.33
21.77
-10.54
ETHANOL OUTPUT*
18.74
17.94
-4.29
TRS (kg/T)
140
138
-1.65
CANE TO SUGAR
46.1%
44.4%
Source: Cane Industry Group Unica
* Includes corn-based ethanol
(Reporting by Rafaela Barros and Marcelo Teixeira; Additional reporting by Leticia Fucuchima; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis)
((marcelo.teixeira@tr.com; +1 332 220 8062; Reuters Messaging: marcelo.teixeira.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net – https://twitter.com/tx_marcelo))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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