UNICA: Hydrous ethanol production, sales up in December
January 16, 2024
BY Erin Voegele
UNICA, the Brazilian sugarcane industry association, has announced sugarcane processing was up significantly during the final half of December. Ethanol production and sales were also up during the two-week period.
According to UNICA, mills in the south-central region of Brazil processed 4.87 million metric tons of sugarcane during the second half of December, up 79.87 percent when compared to the same period of the previous year. Total sugarcane processing since the start of the current harvest season, which began April 1, reached 542.39 million metric tons, up 18.76 percent when compared to the same period of 2022.
Mills in the region produced 526.11 million liters (138.98 million gallons) of ethanol during the second half of December, up 62.88 percent when compared to the same period of the previous year. Production included 353.79 million liters of hydrous ethanol, up 99.44 percent, and 172.32 million liters of anhydrous ethanol, up 18.34 percent. Corn ethanol accounted for 279.39 million liters, or 53 percent, of total production during the two-week period, up 37.65 percent when compared to the same period of the previous year.
Total ethanol production since the beginning of the current harvest season was at 31.44 billion liters, up 14.39 percent when compared to the same period of the previous harvest season. Production included 18.79 billion liters of hydrous ethanol, up 18.72 percent, and 12.66 billion liters of anhydrous ethanol, up 8.52 percent. Corn accounted for 4.61 billion liters of production, up 41.65 percent.
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Mills in the south-central region sold 2.88 billion liters of ethanol in December, up 11.25 percent when compared to the same month of 2022. Sales included 1.93 billion liters of hydrous ethanol, up 35.46 percent, and 941.95 million liters of anhydrous ethanol, down 18.61 percent. Domestic sales included 1.81 billion liters of hydrous ethanol, up 39.22 percent, and 898.22 million liters of anhydrous ethanol, down 10.33 percent.
Total ethanol sales since the beginning of the current harvest season reached 23.95 billion liters, up 6.59 percent. Sales included 14.37 billion liters of hydrous ethanol, up 10.71 percent, and 9.58 billion liters of anhydrous ethanol, up 0.95 percent.
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