Brazil Copersucar to triple sugar, ethanol output

SAO PAULO - Brazil's largest and most traditional sugar and ethanol cooperative, Copersucar, said on Wednesday it had become a company, with plans to triple its production in the next 10 years.

Founded in 1959, Copersucar had the aim to sell sugar and ethanol produced by its 10 associate mills. The co-op has expanded its operations and become one of the world's biggest private exporters.

Today it has about 5 percent of the world sugar trade and, with its new legal status, will displace Cosan (CSAN3.SA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) as the largest sugar and ethanol producing company in Brazil.

"(The sugar and ethanol) industry is expanding fast so it's important to grow to keep the relevance we always had," Copersucar CEO Luis Roberto Pogetti told Reuters.

He said that being a cooperative posed some restrictions to the plan. According to law, a cooperative's asset does not belong to associates, so if this company decides to leave the co-op it loses any investment made in a common asset.

"This makes it complicated for an associate to invest and also to attract new mills," Pogetti said, adding that associates will still have to commit 100 percent of their product to Copersucar.

The co-op was composed of 33 mills in Sao Paulo, Parana and Minas Gerais states, which now become the shareholders of Copersucar's newly created holding company, Produpar.

source:reuters