Brazil's ethanol production is expected to reach a record 33.58 billion liters in the 2018/19 crop, an increase of 23.3% over the previous season, according to data released today (23) by Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento (Conab) ). Of this total, 22.99 billion liters are hydrous ethanol (41.5% high) and 10.59 billion liters of anhydrous (3.7% decrease over the previous harvest).

In Conab's assessment, the increase in ethanol production in this harvest was mainly due to the drop in sugar prices in the international market and a more favorable scenario for ethanol in the domestic market, against the dollar and oil prices.

Also according to the agency, the sugarcane harvest was 625.2 million tons, showing a reduction of 1.3% in relation to the previous one of 633.26 million tons. In the case of sugar production, it reached 31.35 million tons, a decrease of 17.2% or 6.5 million tons, when compared to last season. The area harvested was 8.59 million hectares, representing a decrease of 1.6% compared to 2017/18.

Conab's data are in line with projections previously made by DATAGRO, which pointed to an ethanol production of 33.01 billion liters, while the country's sugarcane harvest was 620.7 million tons for the 2018 harvest / 19.