Sugar and ethanol output in Brazil's Parana state over the second half of April was down 52% and 51%, respectively, year on year to 82,971 mt and 45.1 million liters, data from the Bioenergy Producers Association of Parana (Alcopar) showed.
Parana is one of the sugarcane producer states in the key Center-South region. The 2017-18 sugarcane season started April 1 and will last until March 31 next year.
The amount of sugarcane crushed to produce both sugar and ethanol fell 45% year on year to 1.4 million mt, with 52.8% used to produce sugar and the balance used to ethanol, data showed.
Of the total ethanol, hydrous accounted for 63%, or 28.2 million liters, while the balance was anhydrous.
Although production figures were lower year on year, the figures were higher when compared with H1 April. H1 April was the first fortnight of production in the 2017-18 season.
Sugar output in H2 April was up 89% from the previous fortnight, while ethanol output grew 21% from H1.
Alcopar had attributed the drop to a slow start and fewer mills crushing in the first half of April.
The sugarcane season started late and at a slow pace, with only 14 mills operational through April 16, compared with 24 operational over the same period last year, according to Alcopar.
Total sugarcane crushed in April was 2.39 million mt, down 58% year on year.
Of the total cane crushed in April, 48.37% was used to produce sugar while the balance was directed to ethanol, data showed.
Cumulative sugar production totaled 126,890 mt, down 67% year on year, while cumulative ethanol output was down 59% to 82.4 million liters.
Of the total ethanol, hydrous production totaled 51.4 million liters, down 56% year on year, while anhydrous reached 30.9 million liters, down 63%.
Cane's total recoverable sugar in April was 114.82 Kg/mt of cane, down 11.2% from same period a year ago, the data showed.
Alcopar's estimates for the 2017-18 season pointed to a total of 40.27 million mt of cane crushed, down 0.3% from previous season. The total cane directed to sugar was expected to drop 0.54 percentage point from last season to 57.28%.
With slightly less cane directed to sugar, sugar production was expected to fall 0.6% to 3.042 million mt.
Ethanol production, by contrast, was expected to increase 1.7% year on year to nearly 1.38 billion liters, with hydrous accounting for 57.3% of the total. Anhydrous will account for the balance, estimates showed.
Hydrous ethanol is mainly used in flex-fuel vehicles, while anhydrous is mostly blended with gasoline in a ratio of 27%, according to a national mandate.
Both products are also used in industry.
