Brasília – The projection for the 2014/2015 sugar cane crop released this Wednesday (23rd) by the Sugarcane Industry Union (Unica in the Portuguese acronym) shows a drop of 16.94 million tonnes in milling in relation to the previous crop. The organization estimates that, overall, the crop will be 580 million tonnes.
Unica’s chairwoman, Elizabeth Farina, says that the sector is facing a deep and ongoing financial crisis. "There is angst in relation to the future and the role [the sector] thinks it is going to play", she said.
With regards to the reduction of milling expectations, the drop in Brazilian sugar cane crop yield will be caused by the long period of drought in the end of last year and in the beginning of this one. In spite of that, Unica noticed a growth of 5% in the area available for the crops. The expansion is a reflection of the smaller renovation of sugar cane crops and of the significant increase in the volume of non-processed cane during the previous crop.
Out of the total of sugar cane to be processed, the projection is that 56.44% will be allocated to ethanol production, an increase of 1.66 percentage points in relation to the previous crop. As regards the sugar production, it should be 5.23% lower. In the opinion of the director of Unica, Antonio de Padua Rodrigues, this is linked to the financial conditions of the processing plants. "This is the outcome of the financial condition of the companies which need revenue", he said.
According to Rodrigues, many of these companies have already gone out of the sugar cane market for several reasons. Among them is the fact that ethanol pays between 10 and 15% more than sugar. "The market of ethanol has much more liquidity, it is easy to find buyers", he stressed.
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça
