Brazil sugar production falls 2% — Unica
Sugar production in Brazil's center-south region totaled 3.61 million tonnes in the second half of July, a 2.16% drop on a yearly basis, while agricultural yields for sugarcane declined as the crop struggles in drier weather.
It is reported by xm.com.
Industry group Unica said in a report on Tuesday that sugarcane crushing in the period totaled 51.31 million tonnes, down 3.35% year-on-year, while total ethanol output reached 2.55 billion liters, up 3.47%.
Production data from one of the world's largest sugar producers was in line or slightly above market estimates. A survey by S&P Global Commodity Insights indicated sugar production at 3.6 million tonnes and cane crush at 50.8 million tonnes.
Unica said that an assessment of sugarcane productivity in July showed a 10% fall in the volume of cane per hectare from last year's 87.5 tonnes per hectare.
«That data is an indication of the (bad) condition of crops yet to be harvested», — said Unica's director Luciano Rodrigues.
Soil moisture in the main Ribeirao Preto producing area is currently at the lowest for the last seven years, due to below-average precipitation.
The sugar mix, or the amount of cane allocated to sugar production, was again below analysts' estimates at 50.28%, which is also below the sugar mix seen a year ago.