UNICA: Sugarcane processing, ethanol production down in early May
June 2, 2022
BY Erin Voegele
UNICA, the Brazilian sugarcane industry association, has released data for the first half of May, reporting that sugarcane processing, ethanol production and ethanol sales were all down during the two-week period.
Mills in the south-central region of Brazil processed 34.37 million tons of sugarcane during the first two weeks of May, down 17.04 percent when compared to the same period of last year. Since the beginning of the current harvest season, which began April 1, mills in the region have processed 63.67 million tons of sugarcane, down 26.62 percent.
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As of May 16, UNICA said 232 production units in the south-central region were operational, compared to 236 units on the same date of 2021. An additional 17 sugarcane processing units were expected to begin operations during the second half of May.
Mills in the region produced 1.66 billion liters (438.53 million gallons) of ethanol during the first half of May, down 10.3 percent when compared to the same period of last year. That volume included 1.06 billion liters of hydrous ethanol, down 14.19 percent, and 593.93 million liters of anhydrous ethanol, down 1.5 percent. Corn ethanol accounted for 161.44 million liters of the ethanol produced during the two-week period, up 46.39 percent when compared to the same period of last year.
Since the beginning of the current harvest season, ethanol production has reached 3.15 billion liters, down 18.7 percent, including 2.31 billion liters of hydrous ethanol and 836.84 million liters of anhydrous ethanol. According to UNICA, anhydrous ethanol is down 20.37 percent when compared to the same period of the previous harvest season. Corn ethanol production since April 1 is at 442.43 million liters, up 26.93 percent when compared to the same period of last year.
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Mills in the south-central region sold 990.82 million liters of ethanol during the first half of May, down 17.27 percent. Domestic sales included 605.58 billion liters of hydrous ethanol, down 24.31 percent, and 363.92 million liters of anhydrous ethanol, down 4.85 percent.
Since the beginning of the current harvest season, mills in the region have sold 3.21 billion liters of ethanol, down 4.32 percent. That volume includes 2.03 billion liters of hydrous ethanol, down 12.67 percent, and 1.19 billion liters of anhydrous ethanol, up 14.35 percent.
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