In the second half of November, production units in the central and southern regions processed 20.35 million tons, compared to 24 million in the 2023/2024 season, a decrease of 15.2%. In the cumulative toll from the beginning of the 2024/2025 harvest season until the first of December, crushing reached 602.94 million tons, compared to 619.97 million tons recorded during the same period of the previous cycle, a decrease of 2.75%.
For UNICA Sector Intelligence Director, Luciano Rodrigues, “rains significantly affected the harvest rate at the beginning of November and many production units postponed the end of operations until the end of the month. As a result, crushing in the last 15 days of November increased by about 45% in Sao Paulo and 3% in other central and southern states compared to the amount of crushed sugarcane in the first half of the month.
Despite the situation, the pace of harvest in 2024/2025 remains lower than what was observed in the last harvest, as the number of companies operating this year is less than that recorded in the 2023/2024 cycle. “By the beginning of December, 135 production units had stopped crushing, compared to only 82 companies in the previous harvest,” Rodriguez explained.
In this scenario, 196 production units were operational in the second half of November this year, with 177 companies dedicated to sugarcane processing, ten to producing ethanol from corn and nine flex units (companies that produce ethanol from corn and sugarcane). .
Regarding raw material quality, the level of total recoverable sugars (ATR) recorded in the second half of November was 124.59 kg ATR per ton of sugarcane, compared to 132.44 kg per ton in the 2023/2024 crop – a negative variance of 5.93%. . In the cumulative harvest result, the indicator shows 141.72 kg TRS per ton, which is slightly higher (1.03%) than the indicator of the last cycle at the same position.
Sugar and ethanol production
Sugar production during the second half of November amounted to 1.08 million tons, recording a decrease of 23.06% compared to the amount recorded during the same period of the 2023/2024 season (1.41 million tons). In the cumulative period from the beginning of the harvest until December 1, the desalination industry continues to record a greater decline than that observed in grinding, recording 39.36 million tons produced this year compared to 40.88 million tons in the previous cycle (-3). .72%).
“Fortnightly sugar production continues to be hampered by poor quality raw materials, meaning that only 44.89% of sugarcane was used to manufacture the sweetener in that fortnight, compared to 46.54% recorded in the same period last year,” UNICA Executive Director added.
In the second half of November, ethanol production by units in the center and south reached 1.19 billion liters, of which 774.50 million liters were hydrous ethanol (-1.31%) and 414.8 million liters were anhydrous ethanol (-11.64%). In the current agricultural cycle, the total manufacturing of biofuels reached 31.17 billion liters (+4.31%), of which 19.84 billion liters of hydrous ethanol (+11.80%) and 11.33 billion liters of anhydrous ethanol (-6.63%).
Of the total ethanol obtained in the second half of November, 31.02% was manufactured from corn, recording a production of 368.86 million liters this year, compared to 257.85 million liters in the same period of the 2023/2024 cycle – an increase of 43.05%. In the backlog since the beginning of the harvest, corn ethanol production reached 5.25 billion liters – an increase of 29.67% compared to the same period last year.
Ethanol sales
In November, ethanol sales amounted to 2.93 billion litres, representing a positive variance of 3.24% compared to the same period of the 2023/2024 harvest season.
In the local market, the total volume of hydro-ethanol sold by central and southern units reached 1.78 billion liters, recording an increase of 10.54% compared to the same period of the previous season. In contrast, anhydrous ethanol sales reached 978.86 million liters, an increase of 4.24%.
In the accumulated period from the beginning of the harvest until December 1, total ethanol sales by units in the center and south reached 23.84 billion liters, recording a growth of 13.13%. The accumulated volume of hydrous ethanol was 15.42 billion liters (+24.01%), while that of anhydrous ethanol was 8.42 billion liters (-2.54%).
“Despite the decline in crushing operations, ethanol supplies to the domestic market are showing significant growth, providing a competitive option for consumers to save and decarbonize by choosing biofuels at the time of supply,” Rodriguez said.
CBIOS Market
Data from B3 through December 9 recorded the issuance of 39.78 million decarbonization credits (CBios) in 2024. The total number of securities available for trading held by committed and non-compliant parties and issuers is 21.38 million decarbonization credits.
“Adding the number of CBios available for sale and the credits already parked, we have exceeded the number of addresses needed to achieve the target required by the entire programme. To date, 28.28 million CBios have already been parked to meet the requirements set by December 31 of this year,” highlights the UNICA Director. (unique)
