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Sugarcane processing totaled 50.22 million tons until the first half of February.
The sugarcane harvest in the North and Northeast has already reached 86% of processing expected for the 2022/2023 season, with the crushing of 50.22 million tons by the end of the first half of February. With this volume, there are still around eight million tons to be crushed, which should prolong crushing, notably in Alagoas and Pernambuco. This is revealed by data compiled by the Association of Sugar, Ethanol and Bioenergy Producers (NovaBio), an entity that brings together 35 ethanol plants and distilleries in 11 Brazilian states. Growth in the production of sugar and anhydrous ethanol is already noticeable in the North and Northeast, which should close the current harvest recording percentages above 7% for both products, depending on the weather, which is still very rainy this summer.
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Until February 15, sugar manufacturing, totaling 2.7 million tons, grew 2.8% compared to the numbers recorded on the same date in 2022. According to Renato Cunha, production recovered after a decline of 1.1% observed in month of December, and should end with 3.2 million tons. Of the projected amount, around 2.5 million tons of sugar (refined and bulk) will be exported to African countries, especially Ghana, Sudan, Nigeria and Algeria, and other continents (Americas and Europe).
In relation to anhydrous biofuel, the units in the North and Northeast manufactured 1.09 billion liters until the first half of February, a volume 9% higher compared to the last harvest. Renato Cunha, who also presides over the Sugar and Alcohol Industry Union of the State of Pernambuco (Sindaçucar/PE), estimates that in the 2022/2023 harvest the North and Northeast will produce a volume of more than 1.15 billion liters of the product, surpassing the initial forecast for the 22/23 harvest.
For hydrated ethanol, which until February 15th showed a decline of 10.4%, with 907 million liters compared to 1 billion liters obtained in the same period of the previous cycle, the executive estimates production of 1.18 billion liters, a greater quantity than than that seen in the 2021/2022 harvest. At the end of the current grinding cycle, total ethanol production, considering anhydrous and hydrated, is expected to grow by around 8%, closing 2022/2023 with 2.27 billion liters.
Grinding cycles
The 2022/2023 harvest will be completed by the end of March in the states of Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Pará, Piauí, Tocantins and Amazonas. In Alagoas, Sergipe, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba and Pernambuco, it will be closed by April 2023.
Source: datagro
