The sugarcane mills in the Center-South region processed 42.37 million tons in the first half of June, almost equal to the 42.52 million processed in the same period of last year, and 3.92% lower than the result of the last May, according to data released this week by the Union of Sugarcane Industry (UNICA). According to the entity, in the accumulated of the harvest, the processing in the accumulated of the crop is 4.10% smaller. Until the 16th of this month, milling in the Center-South adds 170.81 million tons, against 178.11 million tons until the same period of the previous cycle. “Despite the dry climate observed in recent weeks, the milling of the harvest is still delayed by more than 7 million tons,” UNICA technical director Antonio de Padua Rodrigues said in a statement. Regarding the number of harvest units , 251 were in operation in the Center-South until June 16, against 259 until the same date of 2018. Another nine units are expected to start operations in the coming weeks. Regarding agricultural productivity, preliminary data from the Sugarcane Technology Center (CTC) indicate a fall of 2.16% in agricultural income in the first half of June. Considering a common sample of producing units, the indicator dropped from 89.69 tonnes per hectare harvested in 2018 to 87.75 tonnes per hectare at the beginning of June this year.
Source: Universo Agro