Sugar production in Brazil's Center-South for the first half of August totaled 2.994 million mt. a drop of 7.48% from the prior year, data from trade association UNICA showed Aug. 24.
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Register NowThe figure was only 0.031 million mt above the consensus expectations of 2.963 million mt from 12 analysts S&P Global Platts surveyed Aug. 23.
Mills in CS Brazil crushed 44.62 million mt of sugarcane in H1 August, down 4.20% year on year, UNICA said.
Sugar's share of the sugarcane crush for H1 August was 46.84% compared with 47.69% a year earlier.
The cumulative sugar crush in CS Brazil since April 1 was up to 349.46 million mt through H1 August. April 1 was the beginning of the 2021-22 crop year. This figure was down 6.70% compared with the same period in the 2020-21 crop year.
Sugar production since April 1 reached 21.32 million mt or a decrease of 7.51% from the same period in the 2020-21 crop year.
A total of 258 mills were operating as of Aug. 16, down seven from the same period of 2020. Market participants expect one more mill to begin operating in H2 August.
Total recoverable sugar, or ATR, in H1 August was 150.35 kg/mt, down 1.67% year on year.
Ethanol production, sales
Ethanol production in CS Brazil was 2.22 billion liters in H1 August, down 2.78% from a year earlier, UNICA said. Hydrous ethanol production accounted for 1.3 billion liters of the total, down 16.99% on the year. Anhydrous ethanol output was at 922 million liters, up 28.17% on the year, it said.
Between the start of the 2021-22 harvest and Aug. 16, ethanol production totaled 16.41 billion liters, with 10.20 billion liters of hydrous ethanol and 6.21 billion liters of anhydrous ethanol being produced.
Corn ethanol production in H1 August was 131.96 million liters, with 82.23 million liters of hydrous ethanol and 49.73 million liters of anhydrous ethanol being produced.
Ethanol sales by mills in CS Brazil during H1 August were 1.15 billion liters, 5.2% lower year on year, with 1.1 billion liters going to the domestic market and 52.08 million liters for exports.
The quantity of hydrous ethanol sold to the domestic market during H1 August was 675.97 million liters, down 12.29% on the year. The quantity of anhydrous ethanol sold to the domestic market during H1 August was 426.42 million liters, 12.18% higher on the year.
Since the beginning of the 2021-22 harvest, cumulative sales of ethanol in the region totaled 10.93 billion liters, or an increase of 5.47%, from the same period last year.