Sugarcane crushing reaches 43 million tons in the first half of September

The recent fires have affected agriculture and the harvest of processed sugarcane

In the first half of September, sugarcane producing units in the South-Central region processed 42.93 million tonnes compared to 41.90 million tonnes for the 2023/2024 harvest, a growth of 2.46%. In the 2024/2025 harvest up to September 16, crushing reached 466.26 million tonnes, compared to 448.55 million tonnes recorded in the same period in the previous cycle.

At the end of two weeks, 259 units were active in the Centre-South, of which 240 transform sugar cane, nine companies produce ethanol from corn and ten flex plants. During these two weeks, one unit finished grinding. In the previous cycle, on the same date, no plant had completed its processing period.

In relation to the quality of the raw material, the level of Total Recoverable Sugars (ATR) recorded in the first half of September was 159.52 kg per ton of cane sugar, against 153.41 kg per ton in 23/24 – variation positive by 3.98%. In the cumulative harvest result, the indicator shows a value of 139.35 kg of TRS per ton (+0.43%).

Photo: Getty Images

Sugar and ethanol production

Sugar production in the first half of September amounted to 3.123 million tonnes, practically the same production recorded in the same period in the 2023/2024 harvest (3.126 million tonnes). In the cumulative period from the beginning of the harvest until September 16, the production of the sweetener amounted to 30.29 million tons, compared to 29.27 million tons in the previous cycle (+3.49%).

The percentage of cane sugar used to produce the sweetener continues to be hampered by the quality of the raw material and showed a significant decline in the first half of September, reaching only 47.86% of the raw material used in sugar production this year , compared to 51.04% recorded in the same fortnight of the previous harvest.

“Despite having recorded 6 kg more ATR per tonne of sugarcane processed in the first half of September, the sucrose content per tonne is practically the same as observed in the same period of the previous cycle, given that the purity of the juice has dropped by over 2.0 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023”, explains the director of UNICA’s Intelligence Sector, Luciano Rodrigues.

The UNICA manager also stated that in the cumulative harvest, from April to August, it was possible to observe an 11% increase in the quantity of reducing sugars compared to the index recorded the previous year.

“The unfavorable weather conditions observed since last summer, the recent fires that affected the crop and the sugarcane crop processed outside the initially planned schedule are among the main factors responsible for this scenario in recent weeks,” he added Rodriguez.

In the first half of September, ethanol production by Central-Southern units reached 2.43 billion liters, of which 1.60 billion liters of hydrous ethanol (+26.66%) and 833.77 million of liters of anhydrous ethanol (-3.90%). In the current agricultural cycle, the production of biofuels amounted to 22.95 billion liters (+8.15%), of which 14.66 billion of hydrated ethanol (+17.88%) and 8.29 billion of anhydrous (-5.62%).

Of the total ethanol obtained in the first half of August, 14% was produced from corn, recording a production of 336.06 million liters this year, compared to 285.33 million liters in the same period of the 2023/2024 cycle, with an increase of 17.78%. In total since the beginning of the harvest, corn ethanol production has reached 3.47 billion liters, an increase of 26.01% compared to the same period last year.

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Source: Terra

Rose

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.