In line with private consultancies and entities in the segment, Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento (Conab) also predicts that the country’s mills will favor sugar production over ethanol in this 2020/21 harvest. In its first report on the season that started in April, released yesterday, the state-owned company estimated sugar production at 35.3 million tons, 18.5% more than in 2019/20, and ethanol at 29.3 billion. liters, down 13.9%. The movement reflects the double crisis in the domestic biofuel market, which faces a fall in demand and prices – in this case under the influence of the oil slump – and the best moment for sugar exports, mainly due to the favorable exchange rate. From sugarcane ethanol production, 9.2 billion liters should be anhydrous (mixed with gasoline), 8.8% less than in the previous cycle, and 20.1 billion liters of hydrate (used directly in vehicle tanks) , a 16% reduction in the same comparison. Conab also released projections for the production of ethanol made from corn. In this case, the agency predicts a significant increase of 61.1%, to 2.7 billion liters – 713.4 million anhydrous (76% high) and 2 billion hydrous (56.4% high). Thus, the total production of ethanol in the country in 2020/21 is expected to reach 32 billion liters, a reduction of 10.3% compared to 2019/20. In total, Conab estimated Brazilian sugarcane production at 630.7 million tons in 2020/21, a volume that represents a 1.9% reduction compared to 2019/20.
Source: Valor / Portos e Navios