ORPLANA (Organization of Brazilian Sugarcane Producers Associations) released on Friday (27) a new report on the impact of fires on rural sugarcane properties in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul.
“It is worth noting that, in addition to São Paulo, fires in sugarcane fields have also affected other states in the center and south. In fact, some of them are still suffering – a lot – from fire. “This is because fire is something unexpected, without control and action.” Desirable in any agricultural activity, not just in sugarcane,” says ORPLANA CEO, José Guilherme Nogueira.
According to the organization, the fires in São Paulo state as of September 20 have affected about 263,000 hectares of sugar cane. In the state of Minas Gerais, about 61 thousand hectares were burned. “This represents a volume of about 3 million tons of standing sugarcane and sugarcane regrowth in the state of Minas Gerais,” Nogueira explains.
In Goiás, ORPLANA is still updating the data. However, as of September 3, the burned area reached 43,000 hectares, of which two-thirds was sugarcane and one-third was sugarcane in the process of regrowth.
The states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul were also significantly affected by fires in general. “But when we talk about sugarcane, we have burned almost 19,000 hectares in Mato Grosso, with part of it sugarcane and part of it growing. He confirmed that 28,000 hectares of sugarcane were affected by the fires in the state of MS.
Nogueira explains that the fires, combined with the dry climate, have caused a significant decline in sugarcane productivity. “Therefore, we estimate a decline in sugarcane yield of about 15% compared to the last crop, which will directly impact global sugar supplies, which in turn will impact ethanol prices.”
Influence in Brazil
According to ORPLANA – which currently represents 35 sugarcane supplier associations and more than 12,000 producers – the fires have burned about 414,000 hectares in sugarcane and sugarcane regrowth areas in Brazil, resulting in total losses of R$2.67 billion for sugarcane farmers. “Remember that these figures refer to data collected, compiled and monitored in ORPLANA’s areas of activity. In the number of hectares burned, the organization does not take into account APP areas, legal reserves, highway margins, pastures, etc.,” explains the CEO of the organization. Orplana
