Ethanol production increased in the second half of January in Brazil’s main sugarcane belt, with corn accounting for more than 90% of the total output during the period, according to the UNICA, the country’s sugarcane industry association, Ethanol Producer Magazine reported.
Data released by the association showed that mills in the Brazil’s Centre-South region processed 608,930 metric tonnes of sugarcane during the second half of January. Since the start of the current harvest season on April 1, 2025, total sugarcane crushing in the region has reached 601.64 million metric tonnes, about 2.16% lower than the same period of the previous season.
Ethanol production during the two-week period totalled 439.44 million litres. This included 255.83 million litres of hydrous ethanol, an increase of 7.59%, and 183.61 million litres of anhydrous ethanol, which rose by 11.81%. Corn-based ethanol accounted for 90.67% of the ethanol produced during the period.
For the season so far, total ethanol production has reached 31.71 billion litres, representing a decline of 4.64% compared with the previous season. Output included 19.56 billion litres of hydrous ethanol, down 7.61%, and 12.15 billion litres of anhydrous ethanol, up 0.54%.
Corn ethanol production has continued to grow, reaching 7.65 billion litres since the start of the season, an increase of 13.05% from the same period last year.
The association also reported that mills in the region sold 2.85 billion litres of ethanol in January. Of this, 1.23 billion litres were anhydrous ethanol, up 9.58%, while 1.62 billion litres were hydrous ethanol, down 15.32%.
Domestic sales during the month included 1.6 billion litres of hydrous ethanol, a drop of 11.97%, and 1.19 billion litres of anhydrous ethanol, which rose by 9.79%.
Overall ethanol sales since the beginning of the current harvest season have reached 29.14 billion litres, down 2.45%. This includes 11.18 billion litres of anhydrous ethanol, up 5.27%, and 17.97 billion litres of hydrous ethanol, down 6.7%.
