The 2024/25 harvest season has been marked by a difficult climate scenario. In the year to August, more than 1,000 mm of water deficit was recorded, which affected the productivity of sugarcane fields in the center and south region. The data comes from the Bulletin De Olho Na Safra, issued by the Canaviera Technology Center (CTC) on Wednesday, the 18th of this month.
The productivity index – measured in tons of sugarcane per hectare – accumulated from April to August, on average, recorded a decrease of 7.4% compared to the same period of the previous harvest, falling from 93.3 (2023/24) to 86.4 (2024/25) in the Centre-South.
In August this year, the average sugarcane yield in the Central and Southern region decreased by 13.7% compared to the same month of the previous harvest – from 91.2 tons per hectare to 78.7 tons per hectare.
Other factors that affected productivity were the high average cutting stage, indicating a proportion of harvest from old, and therefore less productive, sugarcane fields.
The quality of the raw material – calculated based on the concentration of total recoverable sugar (ATR) per tonne of cane – is on par with the 2023/24 harvest given the data accumulated up to August.
Another quality parameter analysed by the CTC in the 2024/25 harvest season is the purity of the juice. This value decreased by 2 percentage points compared to the 2023/24 season due to a higher concentration of reducing sugars, which reflects, among other factors, the water deficit.
The CTC also highlights the impact of fires on sugarcane fields in August. A survey conducted by the CTC Geo team, using CanaSat and satellite imagery, indicates that about 400,000 hectares of sugarcane were affected by fires in the central south, with the greatest impact in the regions of Ribeirão Preto, São José do Rio Preto and São Carlos.
According to the company, the losses caused are still being qualitatively estimated. Areas that have already been harvested will require new investments in cultural treatments (NPK and herbicides) or even mowing in the hope of better regrowth.
Immature areas or areas close to the harvest point are harvested in a hurry, with the aim of minimising the impact on production and quality. These and other measures are detrimental to the organisation of current and future crops. Counter-Terrorism Committee
