Brazil 2010-11 Sugar Cane Crush Seen Up 11.6%

Sugar mills in Brazil's main center-south production region will crush a total of 597.5 million tons of cane in the 2010-11 crop, up 11.6% from the previous season, INTL FCStone said Monday.

Brazil's 2010-11 sugar production will come in at 34.7 million tons--a 21.7% increase from the last season, the group said in a press release. FCStone Group, a broker and merchant, is a subsidiary of International Assets Holding Corp., or INTL.

Brazil is the world's top sugar producer and exporter. The center-south region accounts for nearly 90% of the country's cane crop. FCStone estimated Brazil's 2009-10 sugar production at 28.5 million tons through Feb. 28.

Brazil's total recoverable sugar will likely average 138.6 kilograms of sugar per ton of cane in 2010-11, a 6.2% increase from last year, FCStone said.

FCStone said Brazil's ethanol production would rise 15.5% in 2010-11 to 26.34 billion liters. Hydrous production will climb 5.4% to 18.05 liters, while anhydrous production is expected up 43.6% at 8.89 liters.

The country's main industry group--the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, or Unica--projects cane output in the main center-south region may rise 10% to more than 580 million tons in 2010-11. Current production in the ongoing 2009-10 year was up 6.35% as of March 1, the association said. The official end of the 2009-10 crop is March 31.

source: tradingmarkets