ETHANOL PRODUCTION TO DECLINE AND CONSUMPTION TO INCREASE IN BRAZIL’S CENTER-SOUTH REGION IN THE 21/22 SEASON

Agroconsult consultancy showed on Wednesday that ethanol production in Brazil’s Center-South region was estimated at 28.1 billion liters in 2021/22, compared to 30 billion liters in the previous season. According to the consultancy, drought periods and less processed sugarcane are estimated to have caused the decline. The season will officially begin in April. The consultancy estimates, in turn, that the country’s ethanol consumption is expected to increase to 88 million liters per day in 2021/22, compared to 85 million liters in 2020/21. The analyst Fabio Meneghin explains that the demand for the ethanol fuel will depend on the effects of the pandemic. Sugarcane crush operation in the Center-South region, the main Brazilian producing region, was estimated at 585 million tons in 2021/22, compared to 605 million in the previous cycle. This will also result in lower sugar production, which was estimated at 35.8 million tons in 2021/22, compared to 38.4 million in the previous cycle. Consequently, sugar exports Brazil’s Center-South region in 2021/22 are expected to reach 26.5 million tons, compared to 29.5 million tons produced in the last cycle.

Source: Reuters (*Translated by Ia Niani)