The amount of sugarcane processed by the plants in the Center-South totaled 44.39 million tons in the first half of September, an increase of 12.08% over the amount recorded in the same fortnight of the 2019/2020 harvest.

In the accumulated since the beginning of the 2020/2021 cycle until September 16, the crushing amounted to 459.45 million tons - an increase of 4.56% in comparison with the same period of the last agricultural cycle.

The recovery of the crushing in the first half of September in relation to the value observed at the end of August this year happened mainly in Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul and in the regions of Assis and Piracicaba, which were the areas most impacted by the rains in the previous month.

"The dry climate of the last few months favored the operationalization of the harvest and allowed this growth of 20 million tonnes in the grinding registered so far", highlights the technical director of UNICA, Antonio de Padua Rodrigues (photo). "Although it does not reflect the general condition of the Center-South, we have heard reports from companies that, to avoid breaks, are advancing in the harvesting area and processing sugarcane before the ideal period, with possible loss of productivity and quality" , he added.

The quality of the raw material processed in the first half of September, measured from the concentration of Total Recoverable Sugars (ATR), increased by 3.15%, reaching 159.09 kg per ton in 2020, against 154.23 kg verified in the same fortnight of the last year. Accumulated, the indicator points to 141.24 kg of ATR per ton, with an increase of 4.49% in relation to the value of the 2019/2020 harvest.

Regarding the number of plants in operation, 258 companies registered production until September 16, compared to 257 industrial units on the same date last year. In the first half of September, 1 unit in Goiás and 2 units in São Paulo already ended the 2020/2021 harvest early.

Sugar and ethanol production 

As a result of the greater crushing, the better quality of the sugarcane and the more sugar-based mix, sugar production increased 55.96% in the first 15 days of September, with 3.18 million tons produced this year. In aggregate since the beginning of the harvest, sugar production reached 29.07 million tons, compared to 20.05 million tons in the same period of 2019.

As a result, 47.01% of the sugarcane was destined for sugar until September 16, compared to 35.43% registered on the same date in 2019.

Rodrigues points out that "the change in the production mix reflects the greater competitiveness of the Brazilian sweetener in the international market. With about 75% of the processed harvest, sugar production has increased by 9.00 million tons, of which approximately 6.8 million resulting from the change in the production mix and the rest of the milling advance and the better quality of the raw material harvested ".

The volume of ethanol produced, in turn, fell 4.65% with a total of 2.29 billion liters in the first half of September. Of this total, the volume of anhydrous ethanol increased 9.01%, reaching 745.37 million liters. The biweekly production of hydrated decreased 10.07%, totaling 1.54 billion liters.

Accumulated since the beginning of the harvest until September 16, ethanol production reached 21.26 billion liters, of which 14.90 billion liters of hydrated ethanol and 6.36 billion liters of anhydrous ethanol.

Regarding corn ethanol, 99.88 million liters were manufactured in the first half of September 2020. In the aggregate from the beginning of the 2020/201 crop to September 16, production totaled 1.01 billion liters, an increase of 94.47% of the volume calculated for the same period in 2019.

The production of corn ethanol has shown growth and should expand the offer of biofuel in the coming months of the harvest. "A change that we observed in that fortnight was the greater targeting of the raw material for the manufacture of anhydrous ethanol: the fortnightly production of anhydrous corn reached 45.56 million liters in the first fortnight, against about 26 million liters in the fortnight. previous ", clarified Rodrigues.

Ethanol sales 

The volume sold in the first fifteen days of September this year totaled 1.33 billion liters, practically the same value registered in the same period of 2019 (1.33 billion liters). Of this total, exports maintained a heated pace with the shipment of 155.75 million liters to the foreign market.

In the domestic market, sales of hydrous ethanol totaled 813.48 million liters in the first half of September, a reduction of 13.57% over the amount recorded in the same period of the last harvest (941.25 million liters). The marketed quantity of anhydrous ethanol, in turn, registered a significant increase of 9.09%: 367.46 million liters sold in 2020, against 336.85 million liters in 2019.

"The retraction in sales of hydrous ethanol fuel in this fortnight was less than that seen in the other months of the harvest and, in addition, it was partially mitigated by the growth of exports and sales of anhydrous ethanol", analyzes Rodrigues.

"Despite the improvement, preliminary market figures indicate that consumption of light fuels is still falling in the country due to the isolation measures and changes in the mobility pattern in the country," he added.

Accumulated since the beginning of the 2020/2021 harvest until September 16, ethanol sales by companies in the Center-South accumulated a retraction close to 16.29%, totaling 13.08 billion liters. Of this total, exports accumulated an increase of 34.05%, totaling 1.25 billion liters, and domestic market sales registered a reduction of around 19.47%, reaching 11.82 billion liters.