Sugarcane crushing affected in Brazil in the second half of October due to rain

23-Nov-2024 01:36 PM

The heavy rains in the second half of October 2024 caused significant disruption to sugarcane harvesting, transportation, and crushing in Brazil’s key sugar-producing Central Southern region.

According to a report by UNICA, the industry's leading association, sugarcane crushing during October 16–31 dropped by 21.64% to 27.17 million tonnes compared to the same period in 2023.

This decline in crushing activity was attributed to the weather conditions, but the overall performance for the marketing season (from April 1 to October 31, 2024) was still positive, with total sugarcane crushed increasing by 0.88% year-over-year to 56.60 million tonnes.

Despite the rainfall disruptions, ethanol production in the region increased during the last week of October to 1.64 billion liters.

However, there were decreases in the production of both hydrous and anhydrous ethanol, down 8.22% and 8.03% respectively.

Meanwhile, the production of ethanol derived from corn saw a notable increase of 33.25%, reaching 257.92 million liters, contributing 21.8% to the region's total ethanol production.

Brazil remains the world's largest producer and exporter of sugar, with 90% of its sugar production concentrated in the Central Southern region.

The region's sugarcane production is crucial for both domestic and export markets, especially considering Brazil’s role as a global leader in the sugar industry.