The National Supply Company (Conab) expects Brazilian sugarcane production to reach 615.98 million mt in the 2019-20 crop, down 0.7% from the previous harvest, the organization said Tuesday.
The lower sugarcane production is due to a reduction in harvested area, which is estimated down 2.4% to 8.38 million ha.
"Although there was an increase in average productivity, it was not enough to positively influence production," Conab said.
In the Center-South, the harvest will reach approximately 566.73 million mt, or 92% of all national production. The volume to be produced represents a drop of 1% versus the previous harvest.
The state of Sao Paulo, the largest domestic producer of cane, is expected to see a production decline of 2.8% to 323.42 million mt in 2019-20.
Sugar production is expected to increase to 34.1 million mt, up 17.4% from the previous harvest.
"Although sugar is recovering, the trend is that the market is still more attractive for ethanol, mainly because of the large amount of sugar in the market," Guilherme Bastos, director of agricultural policy and information at Conab, said.
Ethanol production is expected to reach 31.75 billion liters, down 4.2% from the previous harvest. Anhydrous ethanol production is expected to rise 16.1% to 11.1 billion liters, while hydrous production would fall 12.4% to 20.65 billion liters, Conab said.
The Center-South Brazilian sugar crop year runs from April to March.
