LatinNews Daily - 29 November 2024

*The Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento (Conab), the logistics arm of Brazil’s agrarian development ministry, has released its latest forecast for the 2024/25 sugar cane harvest, projecting a harvest of 678.7m tonnes (t), down from its previous forecast in August of 689.8m t. The updated forecast would mark a 4.8% decrease compared to the 2023/24 harvest. The total area nationwide used for cultivation in the next harvest is expected to come to 8.7m hectares (ha), up 4.3% from the previous harvest, while average productivity is projected to be 78,048kg/ha, down 8.8% compared to 2023/24. In a press release, Conab attributed the expected annual drop in sugar cane production to “adverse climate conditions” such as water scarcity and extreme heat, especially in the central-southern regions of the country. Regarding sugar cane products, Conab estimates that total sugar production will reach 44m t, down 3.7% in yearly terms, while ethanol is expected to total 36.08bn litres, up 1.3% from 2023/24. Of this amount, ethanol produced from sugar cane is forecast to total 28.86bn litres, down 2.8% in yearly terms, and total production for ethanol from maize is projected to reach 7.22bn litres, which would mark a 22.1% increase from the previous harvest cycle.