Conab raises estimate for Brazil's 2024/2025 sugarcane crop
Brazil's national crop agency Conab on Thursday increased its forecast for the country's 2024/25 sugarcane crop but said production would still fall short of the previous season as low rainfall and high temperatures reduced yields in key areas.
It is reported by xm.com.
Sugarcane output in the South American country is now seenat 689.83 million tonnes this season, the agency said, above the 685.86 million tonnes it estimated in April but still below the 713.21 million tonnes reaped in 2023/24.
The figure was revised up from Conab's previous estimate due to improved climate conditions in northeastern Brazil, which enabled good crop development in the area.
However, in the key center-south region - Brazil's main sugarcane belt - "low rainfall levels combined with high temperatures should reduce the output when compared to the previous crop," Conab said in a statement.
Agricultural yields for sugarcane in the country are expected to decline 6.6% in 2024/25 from the previous season, a slower pace than the 7.6% initially estimated by Conab. The harvesting area is seen up 3.5% from the previous cycle.
Sugar output in Brazil, the world's largest producer and exporter of the sweetener, was projected at a record 46 million tonnes this season, 0.7% more than in 2023/24 but down from the 46.29 million tonnes previously estimated by Conab.
Production of both sugar and corn-based ethanol should total 35.41 billion liters, according to Conab, above the 34.18 billion liters projected in April.