Brazil's center-south region produced 3.41 million tonnes of sugar in the second half of July, the most for a 15-day period, as very dry weather allowed mills to work around the clock in the world's largest cane belt. Sugar production in the period surpassed the previous record in the second half of August 2012, according to cane industry group Unica. Mills crushed 50.73 million tonnes of cane in the second half of July, also an all-time high for a two-week period, Unica said.
The numbers, despite the records, were in line with market expectations, including the production mix that remains very heavy on sugar compared to ethanol. Mills allocated 50.33 percent of the cane to sugar production in the second half of July, versus 48.05 percent a year earlier. That sugar mix is one of the highest on record. In the last 10 years, for example, mills have never earmarked more than 50 percent of the cane to sugar production considering the whole crop.
The extremely dry weather, despite the processing boost, is starting to worry some mills, Unica said. "This weather should reduce agricultural yields for the areas that are going to be harvested later in the crop year," the industry group said. Agricultural research think-tank Cepea/Esalq, from the University of Sao Paulo, said this week that some producers were already expecting an early end to the harvest and a larger inter-crop period.