UNICA’s figures for the first half of March were in line with our perspectives.
So we still maintain our total cane harvested at 605mmt, which represents a total production of 38.4mmt
Until March 16th, 30 mills started their harvest. Their numbers are officially accounted for the 2020/21 crop, but the mills in operation are starting the 21/22 crop.

Summary Table 1H March

Until the first half of March, CS processed 600 m tons of sugarcane – 17.6 mmt more than last year.
From this cane 38.3 mt of sugar (record) and 30 bi liters of ethanol were produced.

Corn ethanol production also stood out this season, with 2.42 billion liters produced by the end of the first half of March – 61% yoy.
Of these 2.42 billion, around 74% went to the production of hydrous ethanol.

Beginning the Operations

In preparation for the 21/22 crop, so far 30 mills have started their harvest.
According to UNICA, by the end of the month a total of 54 mills are expected to be operating – 33 less than last year;
The slower start of the crop is due to the lower volume of biscane cane available and the development of the cane field, which is delayed.
The below average rains in the last 3 months (in fact, for some regions since last year) impacted the growth of sugarcane in its critical phase, forcing some producers to postpone the beginning of the 21/22 crop.

Despite the restriction measures due to the pandemic, sales of the biofuel increased in the first half of March.
779m liters of hydrous were sold.

However, the next two weeks are expected to show a drop in demand due to mobility restrictions.
To better understand the hydrous price behavior, access The Brazilian Ethanol Market – Back to 2020?