Ethanol sales by mills in Brazil’s South Central region totaled 1.44 billion liters in the second half of July, an increase of 31.23% compared to the first half of the month, when 1.09 billion liters were sold, and up 33.21% versus the same period a year ago, when sales totaled 1.08 billion liters.
Of the volume sold during the second half of July, 307.07 million liters were destined for export, and 1.13 billion liters supplied Brazil’s domestic market – an increase of 35.86% compared to the second half of July 2012.
In Brazil’s domestic market, sales of anhydrous ethanol totaled 465.99 million liters in the second half of July, while sales of hydrous ethanol reached 663.34 million liters – an increase of 20.71% compared to the 549.53 million liters of hydrous ethanol sold in the first half of the month and up 30.99% versus the second half of July of last year, when the total reached 506.40 million liters.
For the entire month of July, hydrous ethanol sales in Brazil’s domestic market totaled 1.21 billion liters, representing an 18.56% increase versus the previous month, when sales totaled 1.02 billion liters and a 31.34% increase versus July of 2012.
“Considering that ethanol prices were economically advantageous for consumers in major markets, it was natural for us to expect an increase in hydrous ethanol consumption,” said UNICA Technical Director Antonio de Padua Rodrigues. The expectation is that the trend will be maintained in coming weeks since no change has been observed in the pump-price scenario, Rodrigues added.
Sugar and ethanol production
The increase in ethanol sales reflects the decision by mills to continue prioritizing production of the biofuel. The portion of processed cane directed toward ethanol production reached 55.03% in the second half of July, compared to 54.65% in the first half of the month and 49.41% in the second half of July 2012.
Ethanol production totaled 1.90 billion liters in the second half of July – an increase of 6.84% versus the first half of July and up 6.63% compared to the same period in the previous harvest.
Ethanol production in the second half of July broke down into 1.01 billion liters of hydrous and 888.78 million liters of anhydrous ethanol, an increase of 14.29% compared to the volume of anhydrous ethanol produced in the same period a year ago.
Sugar production during the second half of July saw a pronounced year-on-year drop of 14.80%, going from 2.97 million tons to 2.53 million tons.
From the start of the current season through the end of July, sugar production reached 13.84 million tons while ethanol production totaled 11.33 billion liters – of that, 6.66 billion liters were hydrous and 4.67 billion liters were anhydrous ethanol.
Cane crush and cane quality
Mills in South-Central Brazil processed 44.26 million tons of sugarcane in the second half of July, down 4.35% versus the same period a year ago, when 46.28 million tons were crushed.
From the start of the current season to the end of July, the cane crush totaled 268.76 million tons, 51.91 million tons higher than the cane crush in the corresponding 2012 period, but down 9.77% compared to the 2010/2011 harvest, when mills in the South-Central region processed 556.94 million tons of cane during the entire season.
The Total Recoverable Sugars (TRS) index in the second half of July was 133.48 kilograms per ton of sugarcane processed, or practically the same as the 133.19 kg/ton observed in the second half of July 2012. From the start of the current season to the end of July, the TRS was 126.01 kg/ton.
As for the impact of frost observed at the end of July, Rodrigues said major portions of sugarcane-growing areas in southern São Paulo state and in the states of Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul were affected. In those areas, the frost compromised growth and sprouting of the cane crop, killing the apical bud and part of the lateral buds as well as causing leaf burn.
“After a preliminary assessment, we can say that the weather phenomenon could reduce the agricultural productivity and the TRS concentration in the cane harvested by mills located in the affected regions,” Rodrigues said.
UNICA, in conjunction with the Center for Sugarcane Technology (CTC) and other South Central Brazilian sugarcane industry associations, is quantifying the impact of the frost as well as evaluating other variables associated with the production and sale of sugar and ethanol. The goal is to finalize a revised estimate for the 2013/2014 season, to be released at the start of September.
About Harvest Data
The data released in this harvest update was compiled and analyzed by UNICA, with figures provided by the following syndicates and associations of producers from the South-Central states:
ALCOPAR – Association of Producers of Ethanol and Sugar in the State of Paraná
BIOSUL – Association of Bioenergy Producers of Mato Grosso do Sul
SIAMIG – Syndicate of Ethanol Manufacturing Industry in the State of Minas Gerais
SIFAEG – Syndicate of Ethanol Producers of the State of Goiás
SINDAAF – Fluminense Syndicate of Sugar and Ethanol Producers
SINDALCOOL – Syndicate of Sugar and Ethanol Industry of Mato Grosso
SUDES – Society of Plants and Distilleries of the State of Espirito Santo
- More Information
– See full details in UNICAData.
Source
Unica, press release, 2013-08-09.
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