Brazil ends 2023/24 crop with output records for sugar, ethanol
By Andre Romani and Marcelo Teixeira
SAO PAULO, April 12 (Reuters) -Brazil’s Centre-South region concluded the 2023/24 crop (April-March) posting for the first time production records for sugarcane, sugar and ethanol, industry group UNICA said in a report on Friday.
Brazil’s CS processed 654 million metric tons of sugarcane, 19% more than in the previous crop, as the region benefited from near perfect weather conditions both during crop development and harvesting time.
Mills ended the crop with a sugar production of 42.42 million tons, 25% up, and ethanol output of 33.59 billion liters, a 16% increase (see tables).
“We had expectation for a good year when the crop started, but it was even better than we thought,” UNICA’s director Luciano Rodrigues said.
Mills had a clear focus on boosting sugar production during the season to profit from high international prices. Cane allocation to sugar ended at 48.8% versus 44.6% in the previous year.
The record ethanol output only came due to the increasing use of corn to produce the fuel. Corn ethanol production jumped 41% in 2023/24 to 6.26 billion liters. It already accounts for nearly 20% of total ethanol production.
Market focus now turns to the new crop. Despite March being technically the last month of the old crop, it marks the warming up of plants after maintainance in between-crops period and provides an indication of how quick processing will pick up.
In the second half of March Brazil’s CS crushed 5.04 million metric tons of sugarcane,up 6.5% from a year ago. Sugar production totaled 183,000 tons, up 9%, while total ethanol output rose 37.4% to 528 million liters.
UNICA’S CROP REPORT(cane and sugar in million metric tons, ethanol in billion liters, total recoverable sugar-TRS in kg per tonne):
BRAZIL CENTER-SOUTH – 2ND HALF MARCH(ANNUAL COMPARISON)
| 2022/23 | 2023/24 | % CHANGE | |
| CANE CRUSH | 4.73 | 5.04 | 6.51 |
| SUGAR OUTPUT | 0.17 | 0.18 | 8.98 |
| ETHANOL OUTPUT* | 0.38 | 0.53 | 37.42 |
| TRS (kg/T) | 104 | 113 | 9.08 |
| CANE TO SUGAR | 35.7% | 33.5% |
BRAZIL CENTER-SOUTH CROP FINAL NUMBERS
| 2022/23 | 2023/24 | % CHANGE | |
| CANE CRUSH | 548 | 654 | 19.29 |
| SUGAR OUTPUT | 33.75 | 42.42 | 25.70 |
| ETHANOL OUTPUT* | 28.92 | 33.59 | 16.16 |
| TRS (kg/T) | 140 | 139 | -1.10 |
| CANE TO SUGAR | 45.8% | 48.8% |
Source: Cane Industry Group Unica
* Includes corn-based ethanol
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