UNICA reports increased hydrous ethanol sales
February 2, 2018
BY Erin Krueger
UNICA, the Brazilian sugarcane industry association, has announced increased sales of hydrous ethanol during the first half of January. Total ethanol production for the current season is up slightly when compared to the same period of the previous harvest cycle.
Mills in the south-central region of Brazil processed 166,420 tons of sugarcane during the first half of January, the lowest volume for the two-week period over the past 10 years.
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Since the beginning of the current harvest season, mills in the region have progressed 583.56 million tons, down from 593.23 million tons during the same period of the previous harvest.
Approximately 83.26 percent of the sugarcane processed during the first half of January went to ethanol production. Since the beginning of the current harvest season, 53.08 percent has went to ethanol production.
Only 42.5 million liters (11.23 million gallons) of ethanol was produced during the first two weeks of January, including 40.69 million liters of hydrous ethanol and 1.81 million liters of anhydrous ethanol. According to UNICA, 78.93 percent of the ethanol produced during the period—approximately 33.55 million liters—was made from corn feedstock.
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Since the beginning of the current season, ethanol production has reached 25.27 billion liters, including 10.66 billion liters of anhydrous ethanol and 14.61 billion liters of hydrous ethanol. Ethanol production during the period was up 1.13 percent when compared to the 24.98 billion liters manufactured during the same period of the previous harvest. UNICA also noted that approximately 352.66 million liters of corn ethanol has been produced during the current season.
Facilities in the south-central region of Brazil sold 1.04 billion liters of ethanol during the first half of January, up 19.05 percent when compared to the same period of last year. Sales of hydrous ethanol were up significantly, reaching 656.37 million liters, when compared to 437.57 million liters sold during the same period of last year. Since April 1, 2017, sales of ethanol have reached 21.04 billion liters, down slightly when compared to the 21.26 billion liters sold during the same period of the previous harvest.
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