In the second half of October, the volume of sugarcane crushing in production units in the central and southern regions reached 27.17 million tons, compared to 34.66 million tons in the 2023/2024 season, representing a decrease of 21.62%. In the cumulative period from the beginning of the 2024/2025 harvest season until the first of November, crushing reached 566.03 million tons, compared to 561.09 million tons recorded in the same period of the previous cycle, with a growth of 0.88%.
In the second half of October, 250 production units were operated in the central and southern regions, 231 sugarcane processing units, nine companies that manufacture ethanol from corn and ten flex plants. In the same period, in the 23/24 season, 258 production units were operated.
By the end of the second half of October, 27 units will stop crushing. In total since the beginning of the 2024/2025 cycle, 38 units have completed operations. During the same period of the previous harvest, 26 plants were completed crushing.
In addition to the end of the harvest season in some units, the decrease in crushing operations every two weeks was linked to the difficulty of operating the harvest in Goiás, Minas Gerais and the central and northwestern regions of São Paulo, which were affected by the rains.
Regarding the quality of the raw material, the level of total recoverable sugars (ATR) recorded in the second half of October was 149.48 kg ATR per ton of sugarcane, compared to 146.14 kg per ton in the 2023/2024 harvest – a positive variance of 2.28%. In the cumulative harvest, the indicator shows 142.58 kg TRS per ton, which is slightly higher (1.04%) than the last cycle at the same position.
Sugar and ethanol production
Sugar production during the second half of October amounted to 1.78 million tons, recording a decrease of 24.30% compared to the amount recorded during the same period of the 2023/2024 season (2.36 million tons). In the cumulative period from the beginning of the harvest until November 1, desalination production reached 37.38 million tons, compared to 37.27 million tons in the previous cycle (+0.27%).
In the last half of October, only 46.12% of the available raw materials were directed to sugar production, compared to 48.85% recorded in the same period of the 2023/2024 harvest season.
Ethanol manufacturing by units in the center and south, in turn, amounted to 1.64 billion liters, 990.3 million liters of hydrous ethanol (-8.22%) and 650.3 million liters of anhydrous ethanol (-8.03%). In the current agricultural cycle, the total biofuel production reached 28.85 billion liters (+6.87%), of which 18.38 billion liters was hydrous ethanol (+15.11%) and 10.46 billion liters was anhydrous (-5.08%).
Of the total ethanol obtained in the second half of October, 21.8% was made from corn, which recorded a production of 357.92 million liters this year, compared to 268.62 million liters in the same period of the 2023/2024 cycle – an increase of 33.25%. In the cumulative period from the beginning of the harvest until November 1, corn ethanol production reached 4.49 billion liters, an increase of 27.80% compared to the same period last year.
Ethanol sales
In October, ethanol sales totaled 3.03 billion litres, representing a positive variance of 4.65% compared to the same period of the 2023/2024 harvest.
In the domestic market, the volume of hydro-ethanol sold by central and southern units reached 1.82 billion liters, representing an increase of 6.27% compared to the same period of the previous season. In contrast, anhydrous ethanol sales reached 1.09 million liters, an increase of 13.21%.
In the accumulated period from the beginning of the harvest to the end of October, total ethanol sales by units in the center and south reached 20.86 billion liters, registering a growth of 14.38%. The accumulated volume of hydrous ethanol was 13.49 billion liters (+25.96%), while that of anhydrous ethanol was 7.37 billion liters (-2.09%).
“Since August 2023, the price of hydro-ethanol at the pump has been 73% less than the registered price of gasoline in São Paulo, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais and Paraná, offering the potential for decarbonization with savings for owners of flex-fuel vehicles,” Luciano explained. “Reflecting the competitiveness of biofuels, hydro-ethanol sales continue to record strong annual growth, with an average increase of more than 46% in 2024,” said Rodrigues, Director of Intelligence Sector at UNICA.
CBIOS Market
Data from B3 through November 11 indicate 36.04 million credits will be issued in 2024 by biofuel producers. The total amount of CBios available for trading with committed and non-committed parties and issuers is 29.17 million decarbonisation credits.
“Adding the CBios available for sale and the credits already drawn towards the 2024 target, we already have enough addresses to fully meet the amount requested by the program on December 31 of this year,” explained the UNICA director. unique
