Brazil increases sugar production as the crushing season starts; ethanol sector impacted
New York: Coronavirus has impacted the ethanol sector in Brazil. Following which, now mills in the country diverted their attention towards sugar production.
According to the Nasdaq website, as the prices of ethanol have fallen sharply in the market, the center-south region of Brazil has produced 42 per cent more sugar as compared with last season during the same time. The mills have produced 1,98,000 tonnes of sugar.
Last year the mills had allocated 20.5 per cent of cane for sugar production whereas this year they have allocated 27.5% cane, according to industry group Unica’s biweekly report.
Usually, the crushing season in Brazil starts from April but some mills started crushing from March this year. As per Unica, 87 mills were operating in March and 198 plants to be operational in April.
Recently, Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias said, “Falling demand and drop on gasoline prices has affected the ethanol sector in Brazil. To help the sector to survive the government is likely to announce some help for the sector.”
Following the sharp decline in the prices of crude oil, the ethanol producers in Brazil are mulling to reduce ethanol production and diverting more cane for sugar production.
