São Paulo – Brazil could produce 36.3 million tonnes of sugar in the 2022/2023 harvest, representing a 4.1% increase compared to the previous harvest, 2021/2022, according to an assessment carried out by the Brazilian National Supply Company (CONAB). Production would come from Brazilian sugarcane harvest in the period. Pictured above, sugar shipped from a port.
CONAB informed the increased sugar output could occur due to improved productivity of sugarcane crops and fairer sugar rates in the global international market. In addition to higher productivity, the company attributes the increase to total recoverable sugar (TRS) quality. TRS is the indicator of the amount of sugar in the plant.
Brazilian sugar production tends to fluctuate according to the amount of sugarcane used by mills. Ethanol shares with sugar the operations at the plants since it also uses sugarcane as an input in Brazil. Several factors weigh in the share between sugar and ethanol, including the TRS and the prices of each product, according to worldwide supply and demand.
According to CONAB, sugar prices are currently high in the domestic and foreign markets. “Global demand for sugar remained strong, with an amount of sugar available for export by India lower than expected, which contributed to the increase in Brazilian exports, which already total 22.1 million tonnes, 13.4 % greater than in the same period of the previous harvest,” stated the CONAB report.
Brazil expects a 3.4% increase in the 2022/2023 sugarcane harvest over 2021/2022, with 598.3 million tonnes. The increase could result from adjustments in the harvested area and productivity, the latter remaining at 74,571 kilograms per hectare. Brazil’s ethanol production from maize or sugarcane is expected to reach 31.1 billion liters, up 4.2%.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
