Sugar production in Brazil's Parana state in the first half of June amounted to 106,522 mt, down 39% from the same period a year ago, but up 24% from second-half May, according to the latest data from the Bioenergy Producers Association of Parana (Alcopar).
Ethanol output in H1 June totaled 52.87 million liters, down 48% year on year, but up 10% from H2 May, according to the data released Wednesday.
To produce the sugar and ethanol, the amount of sugarcane crushed was 1.69 million mt, down 38% from same period last year, but up 35% from H2 May. The percentage of cane directed toward sugar production was 55.01%, with the balance, 44.99%, going toward ethanol. This compares with 51.21% for sugar production and 48.79% for ethanol last year.
Rains hampered the sugarcane harvesting in Parana during H2 May and H1 June, however rain in H1 June was more sporadic and did not affect the 25 mills that are in operation this season, while in H2 May rains were constant and affected most of the mills, according to local sources. Machinery needed for harvest cannot access wet fields.
The ATR -- total recoverable sugar -- was 119.62 kg/mt of cane in H1 June, a huge drop when compared with the ATR in H2 May of 137.8 kg/mt. A decline in ATR level was already expected by producers because the sugar or ethanol produced in the first days of H2 May originated from cane crushed in the last two days of H1 May. This is usually balanced when cane is crushed for the entire fortnight, but at the end of H2 May, rains caused harvesting to stop.
The 2016-17 sugarcane season started April 1 in Parana state. The state is one of the producing states in the key Center-South region. Last season the state crushed 43.4 million mt of cane, representing 7% of total volume crushed in Center-South.
Since the start of the season through H1 June, total sugarcane crushed in Parana was 10.75 million mt, down 15% from same period last year, data showed. Sugar production was 713,432 mt, down 9% year on year, while ethanol production was 370.3 million liters, down 22% from a year ago. The proportion of cane directed to produce sugar in the period was 53.92%, down from 50.23% last season, with the balance going to ethanol.
The cumulative ATR through H1 June was 128.6 kg/mt, compared with 128.83 kg the same time last season.
In the end of H1 June, the sugarcane fields in some regions of Parana were affected by frosts, and the impact on the cane is expected to be quantified soon.
Industry association UNICA is expected to release the crushing figures for the whole CS region on July 1. Market participants have already started their preliminary estimates, with the cane crush expected to have reached 24 million-25.5 million mt, ATR of roughly 120 kg/mt and the proportion of cane directed to sugar production at 41-42%. Almost seven days of crushing were likely lost to rains.
