Sao Paulo: The unfavourable weather and reduction in the plantation have led the Brazilian government to cut its view of the sugarcane production to the smallest volume since 2011. Farmers have switched to crops like soy and corn that are more profitable.
The sugarcane production for the 2022/23 season is projected to be 514 million tonnes in the centre-south (CS) region as against the 539 million tonnes projected in April, said the government agency Conab.
The sugarcane output is expected lower than the 2021/22 season when the country was hit by a severe drought but the cane output was 525 million tonnes then. The lowest cane output was reported in 2011 (493 million tonnes).
Contradicting the government’s projections, independent analysts see Brazil’s output at around 545 million to 560 million tonnes. Broker StoneX has projected the cane output at 557.5 million tonnes in July. Sugar output in the country, as per the government’s projection, would be down to 30.7 million tonnes, below than 32 million tonnes last season.
The drier weather has led the farmers to shift to crops like corn, and soybeans.
