Sugar production in Brazil fell by 6 percent in the second half of August

14-Sep-2024 03:25 PM

Sao Paulo. A total of 32.60 lakh tonnes of sugar was produced in the central southern region of the Latin American country Brazil during the second fortnight of August 2024 (16-31 August), which was 6 percent less than the production of the same period in the year 2023.

According to a report by the apex industry body - UNICA, the crushing of sugarcane in sugar mills was less than expected in the second half of August.

During the period under review, the crushing of sugarcane fell by 3.25 percent to 450.70 lakh tonnes and out of this, a large amount of sugarcane was used for ethanol production.

It is worth noting that Brazil is the largest producer and exporter of sugar in the world and about 90 percent of the sugar is produced in the central southern region where Sao Paulo is its largest producer province.

Although sugar production in the Central Southern region during the second half of August was in line with the estimates of the industry and trade sector, the crushing of sugarcane was slightly higher than expected.

The industry and trade sector had predicted crushing of 449.90 lakh tonnes of sugarcane during 16-31 August.

During the period under review, the use of sugarcane in sugar production fell to 48.8 percent, while the remaining 51.2 percent of sugarcane was used in ethanol production. Due to this, ethanol production increased by 6 percent to 2.45 billion liters.

There is a possibility of a lot of damage due to the massive fire in forests and sugarcane fields in Sao Paulo province, due to which there is a possibility of a decrease in sugar production.