Brazil's Copersucar Sees `Irreversible Damage' Paring Nation's Sugar Crop
Sugar output in Brazil’s Center South, the world’s largest producing region, may be cut by 1 million metric tons as dry weather is reducing the crop’s size, Brazil’s Copersucar said.
Sugar output in the region may drop to between 33 million and 34 million tons, from a July estimate of 34 million and 35 million tons, said Paulo Roberto de Souza, chief executive officer of Sao Paulo-based Copersucar, the millers’ cooperative that exports more of the sweetener than Thailand.
“The damage caused by dryness is irreversible,” Souza said today in a telephone interview from Sao Paulo. “The crop size could be even smaller if dryness persists.”
Sugar-cane output in Brazil’s Center South may fall to 570 million tons, from a July estimate of 585 million tons, he said.
Copersucar is a Brazilian sugar and ethanol cooperative with 39 associate mills. It plans to export 6 million metric tons of sugar next year. Thailand, the world’s second-biggest exporter after Brazil, exported 5.2 million tons last year.
Raw sugar for October delivery gained 0.09 cent, or 0.4 percent, to settle at 20.16 cents a pound at 2 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York.
A higher content of sucrose, the substance that is processed into ethanol and sugar, won’t offset the smaller-than- expected harvest, Souza said.
Shipping Backlog
A backlog of vessels at Brazil’s main ports is expected to last until October, he said. The number of ships waiting to load at the country’s seven main ports dropped to 114 today from 115 a week ago, according to Santos Associados Consultoria Ltda. and shipping agency Unimar Agenciamentos Maritimos Ltda. That’s more than the 108 waiting ships a month ago.
Brazil’s industry association Unica is scheduled to release a new forecast for the Center-South crop on Aug. 26. Unica estimated regional sugar output at 34.1 million tons on March 31.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lucia Kassai in Sao Paulo at lkassai@bloomberg.net.
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