The amount of sugarcane processed by the production units in the Center-South region reached 42.93 million tons in the second half of June, with a drop of 7.73% over the amount recorded in the same fortnight of the 2019/2020 harvest ( 46.53 million tons), caused by climatic factors.

In the accumulated since the beginning of the 2020/2021 cycle until the end of June, the grinding still registers growth of 5.20%. During this period, the amount of sugarcane processed by the plants reached 229.40 million tons, compared to 218.05 million tons in the same period of the last agricultural cycle.

Regarding the number of plants in operation, 258 companies registered production until July 1, against 255 industrial units on the same date last year. In the last fortnight, 7 units started the 2021 harvest. The expectation is that another 5 companies will start operating in the first fifteen days of July.

Quality of raw material 

The quality of the raw material processed in the second half of June, measured from the concentration of Total Recoverable Sugars (ATR), increased 4.46% reaching 140.66 kg per ton of sugarcane in 2020 against 134.65 kg verified in the same fortnight of the last year.

This improvement in quality partially offset the reduction in crushing in the fortnight. Thus, the total quantity of products manufactured in the last fifteen days of June retracted only 3.61%.

Accumulated since the beginning of the harvest until July 1, the sugar concentration indicator points to 131.06 kg of ATR per ton of sugarcane, with an increase of 5.58% in relation to the value of the 2019/2020 harvest .

Sugar and ethanol production

In the second half of June, 47.42% of the sugarcane was destined for sugar production, compared to 37.06% registered on the same date in 2019. The greater proportion of raw materials directed to the manufacture of sugar was reflected in the numbers, the sweetener production increased 23.34% in the last fifteen days of June this year and reached 2.73 million tons, against 2.21 million tons verified in the same fortnight of the previous year.

In this context, the volume of ethanol produced reached 1.96 billion liters in the second half of June, with 596.30 million liters of anhydrous ethanol and 1.36 billion liters of hydrous ethanol. Of this total, 88.63 million liters were manufactured from corn.

Accumulated since the beginning of the 2020/2021 harvest until July 1, sugar production reached 13.30 million tons, against 8.94 million tons verified on the same date of the 2019/2020 cycle.

UNICA's technical director, Antonio de Padua Rodrigues, points out that “in addition to market conditions, the better quality of the raw material has favored the production of sugar. With approximately 40% of the harvest so far, an increase of 4.35 million tons in sugar production has been observed. Of this amount, 657 thousand tons of sugar resulted from the increase in crushing and the remainder, 3.70 million tons are the result of changes in the production mix, which allowed the growth in sugar production ”.

The accumulated production of ethanol, in turn, totaled 10.00 billion liters, being 2.82 billion liters of anhydrous ethanol and 7.18 billion liters of hydrated ethanol. Of the total manufactured, 506.93 million liters of biofuel were produced from corn.

Sales of sugar and ethanol 

Sugar sales by mills in the Center-South maintained the pace observed in the last two weeks and continued to be strong in June. The quantity exported by units in the Center-South totaled 2.59 million tons, an increase of 70.13%.

Accumulated since the beginning of the 2020/2021 harvest until July 1, the growth reaches 67.22%, with the export of 6.44 million tons this year, compared to 3.85 million in the same period of 2019.

The exits of the sweetener to the domestic market, in turn, reached 2.22 million tons sold since the beginning of the agricultural cycle until July 1 - growth of 7.13% over the index registered in the same period last year.

“The increase in sugar sales and the lower demand for ethanol explain the production dynamics observed so far. In the domestic market, the increase in sugar sales may be associated with the greater transfer of the product manufactured in the Center-South to other regions of the country ”, points out Rodrigues.

The volume of ethanol sold by the production units in June this year totaled 2.40 billion liters, with a decrease of 11.43% in comparison with the same period in 2019 (2.71 billion liters). This drop is less than that seen in the previous two months, which reached almost 30%.

Of the total sold in June, 267.05 million liters were destined for the foreign market and 2.13 billion liters were sold domestically.

This volume of ethanol directed to the foreign market surprised in June, with an increase of 44.31% in comparison with the 185.05 million liters exported in the same month of 2019.

In the domestic market, sales of hydrous ethanol reached 1.47 billion liters in June, a reduction of 19.64% over the amount recorded in the same period of the last harvest (1.83 billion liters). The marketed quantity of anhydrous ethanol, in turn, decreased 4.70%, with 663.86 million liters sold in 2020 against 696.57 million liters in 2019.

Sales of ethanol for other purposes in the domestic market remained strong, with a 40.00% growth in June, totaling 118.25 million liters sold.

“The retraction in ethanol sales in the domestic market was less in the last month. The numbers reflect the less intense drop in demand for light fuels in the country. In the case of anhydrous ethanol, there is a greater transfer of the product to other regions ”, explains the director of UNICA. The growth in transfer results from the lower import of ethanol in this period.

Despite the improvement in sales, accumulated since the beginning of the 2020/2021 harvest until July 1, the volume of ethanol sold by companies in the Center-South accumulated a retraction of 22.71%, totaling 6.37 billion liters. Of this total, 493.33 million liters were destined for export (growth of 32.47%) and 5.88 billion for the domestic market (decrease of 25.26%).