Harvesting activities in Brazil’s south-central region faced disruption during the second half of October due to heavy rains, the Brazilian sugarcane industry association UNICA said. While sugarcane processing and ethanol production fell, ethanol sales recorded an increase, according to Ethanol Producer Magazine.
Sugarcane processing during the two weeks stood at 27.17 million metric tons, a 21.64% drop compared to the same time last year. Despite this setback, the total sugarcane processed since the start of the harvest season on April 1 reached 566.03 million metric tons, reflecting a slight increase of 0.88%.
Ethanol production in the last week of October reached 1.64 billion litres (433.24 million gallons). Hydrous ethanol decreased by 8.22% to 990.3 million litres, while anhydrous ethanol was down by 8.03% at 650.3 million litres. But corn ethanol skyrocketed at 33.25%, accounting for 257.92 million litres of the total, or 21.8% share.
Since the season started, ethanol production increased to 28.85 billion litres, up by 6.87% compared to the previous season. Hydrous ethanol increased by 15.11% to 18.38 billion litres, while anhydrous ethanol decreased by 5.08% to 10.46 billion litres. Corn ethanol production for the season is at 4.49 billion litres, which is a 27.8% increase compared to last year.
Ethanol sales hit 3.03 billion litres in October, up by 4.65% from October 2023. Domestic hydrous ethanol amounted to 1.82 billion litres, thereby increasing by 6.27%, while anhydrous ethanol totalled 1.09 billion litres and rose by 13.21%.
Total ethanol sales are 20.86 billion litres, growing by 14.38% since April. Hydrous ethanol sales have reached 13.49 billion litres, rising by 25.96%, and anhydrous ethanol sales totalled 7.37 billion litres, down by 2.09%.
The number reflects the combined effect of harsh weather conditions and increased ethanol demand, whereby corn-based ethanol dominates the production. Despite delays caused by rain, the industry continued to overall advance this harvest season.
