T
he annual sugarcane cycle in
Brazil, extending from April 2016
to March 2017, could come to
a close with an increase of the
main product of the supply
chain,inwhichtheCountryisthegloballead-
er: theproductionof sugarcane, and the sup-
plyandexportofitsmostcharacteristicprod-
uct, sugar. As surveyed by the National Food
Supply Agency (Conab), in December 2016,
despite divergences among consultancies,
theprocessingof rawmaterialwas supposed
tosoar4.4%,reachingarecordvolumeof694
million tons, and the extraction of the sweet
foodwouldevolve18.9%,while theother im-
portant industrial itemof the segment, etha-
nol, would recede8.5% in the sumof the two
types (anhydrous andhydrated).
This behavior, according to an evalua-
tion by Conab officials, results fromthe high-
ly profitable sugar in the current season, by
virtueoftheglobalshortageregisteredaftera
periodofbigsupply,whichhadthenreduced
values and production volumes. Favorable
prices occurred in both markets: domestic
and foreign, and the appreciated dollar also
favored exports of the product, along with
the reduced global availability. From April
throughNovember 2016, aspublishedby the
Sugarcane Industry Union (Unica), foreign
sales soared 29% from the same period the
previous year. India, China and Indonesia ac-
counted for thebiggest purchases.
The production of sugarcane is estimat-
ed to soar in the current cycle, according
to Conab, as a result of the bigger harvest-
ed area (5.3%), “resulting from sugarcane
of second year in the 2015/16 growing sea-
son, bigger planted areas in some produc-
tion units, reactivation of a unit in São Pau-
lo”, State that is the leading producer (57.7%
of the total). The expanded use of sugarcane
of second year, which doubled in the pre-
vious crop year, takes place in the States of
São Paulo and Paraná, in the Center-South.
The expected national productivity (76,232
kg/ha) is close to the productivity in the pre-
vious year, slightly down 0.9%. The number
was once bigger, but the deep indebtedness
of the sector is still hindering investments in
technology and appropriate sugarcane field
renewals”, say sources for the Brazilian Con-
federationofAgricultureandLivestock(CNA).
The Center-South Region, which is re-
sponsible for more than 90% of the pro-
duction, along with hefty volumes from the
Withattractiveprices,sugarproductionfrom
sugarcaneisexpandedbytheleadingproducer,
Brazil, inthe2016/17growingseason,whilst
moreprocessingwasstillbeingconsidered
Averysweet
season
Sugarcane
States of Goiás, Minas Gerais and Mato Gros-
so do Sul, always outstrips the North and
Northeast in terms of productivity, with
80,237 kg/ha in the previous crop year, but
now this production rate is slightly drop-
ping. In themeantime, theother area,which
had been affected by drought conditions, is
supposed to celebrate a slight increase. Re-
garding the destination of crushed sugar-
cane, although the option for sugar has ris-
en in the 2016/17 growing season, the total
is still in favor of ethanol, at a proportion of
53.25% to 46.7%, in the Center-South, judg-
ing from the numbers released by Unica
from April to November, against 58.56% to
41.44% in the previous cycle).
Anhydrous ethanol, blended with gaso-
line, at a rate that was increased from25%to
27%in2015,hasyettoconfirmitsbiggerpro-
duction volume. Judging from the numbers
released by Conab in December 2016, the
positive variation should reach 1.5%, driven
by the soaring consumption of gasoline. As
for hydrated ethanol, of higher expression,
sold directly at filling stations and used in
flex fuel vehicles, the official organ estimates
a drop of 14.3 percent in this production cy-
cle, “resulting fromthe smaller consumption
ofthisfuelandthedestinationofmoresugar-
cane to the sugar mills”. According to the Na-
tional Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and
Biofuels (ANP), in 2016, up until October, de-
mand for gasoline soared 3.4%and demand
for hydratedethanolwasdown16.6%.
Sílvio Ávila
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