São Paulo – It was a sweet year for entrepreneurs in the sugarcane sector in Paraná. Production of sugar in the state, the third largest in the national ranking, only second to São Paulo and Minas Gerais, should be 26.32% greater than in 2009. The objective is to end December with 3.07 million tonnes, as against 2.43 million tonnes last year. The projections are by the Association of Alcohol and Sugar Producers of the State of Paraná (Alcopar), which brings together companies in the alcohol, sugar and cane sectors in the state.
"We lived a difficult period in 2008 and 2009, when investment dropped due to the global crisis. That is not to mention the climate problems due to excessive rains late last year and in early 2010," explained José Adriano da Silva Dias, the superintendant at Alcopar. "But 2011 promises to be a year of equilibrium, with offer and demand in good proportions," he said. "Here in Paraná, we always work with our feet on the ground and with great care when making projections," he said.
According to the superintendant at Alcopar, the growth was only not greater due to problems in the renewal of at last 20% of the crop each year. "It was not possible to invest in that, so we now have an accumulation that must be solved in 2011," he explained. Therefore, the estimate is to reach a 33.8-million-tonne crop in 2010/2011, as against 32.9 million tonnes in 2009/2010.
Dias recalls that the country answers to over half the sugar traded worldwide, with 28 million tonnes sold abroad this year. Among the importers of sugar from the state of Paraná, Arabs answer to over 15%. In the list of main importers from the bloc are Algeria, the United Arab Emirates and Syria. "The best clients are those that pay correctly and place regular orders," said Dias. "The Arabs are like that", he added.
In Paraná, exports of sugar began in 2008 and answer to 10.05% of sales of the product abroad. In total, that represented 1.9 million tonnes in the year.
Alcopar was established in 1981 and currently brings together 30 companies that work with alcohol, sugar and cane in the state of Paraná. The association’s headquarters are in Maringá, 430 kilometres away from Paraná state capital Curitiba.
*Translated by Mark Ament
