UNICA, the apex sugarcane industry association of Brazil, said that the processing of sugarcane surged in the first half of March compared to last year, accompanied by significant gains in ethanol production and sales.
During this period, mills in Brazil’s South-Central region processed 2.22 million metric tons of sugarcane, marking a substantial increase from the 605,290 metric tons processed in the same timeframe last year. The total processing volume for the ongoing 2023-24 harvest season, which commenced on April 1, 2023, stood at 649.39 million metric tons, reflecting a notable uptick of 19.4% compared to the previous harvest season.
In Brazil’s Sao Paulo, sugar mills have processed about 1.38 million metric tons of sugarcane. The total processing volume for the current season stood at 384.97 million metric tons, showing an increase of 23% compared to the previous season.
Sugar production in the South-Central region till the first half of March is 42.24 million metric tons, an increase of almost 26% compared to corresponding period last year. In Sao Paulo, the total sugar processed till the first half of March is 28.39 million metric tons, an increase of 26% compared to last season.
Since the beginning of the 2023-24 harvest season, total ethanol production reached 33.07 billion litres, marking a notable increase of 15.9%. This included 20.06 billion litres of hydrous ethanol, witnessing a rise of 22.32%, and 13 billion litres of anhydrous ethanol, experiencing a growth of 7.22%. Total ethanol production in Sao Paulo is 13.67 billion litres.
Sales of ethanol during the first half of March soared to 367 million litres, representing a remarkable increase of 38.57% compared to the same period last year. Hydrous ethanol sales surged by 103.94% to 336 million litres, while anhydrous ethanol sales decreased by 69.39% to 31 million litres.
Domestic sales during this period amounted to 1.39 billion litres. Overall sales since the beginning of the 2023-24 harvest season reached 31.24 billion litres, marking an increase of 12.64% compared to the previous harvest season. This included 19.09 billion litres of hydrous ethanol, up by 20.96%, and 12.15 billion litres of anhydrous ethanol, indicating a rise of 1.64%.
