UNICA estimates that the center-south campaign lost the equivalent of 4.5 days of crush due to last month’s trucker strike. Though harvest weather was favorable and cane quality reported as high, road closures prevented the delivery of fuel and other inputs. A recent UNICA report highlights that output is already expected down from 2 to 15 percent this season, depending on the region, the result of aging cane and dry weather from March through May. April-May cane crush totaled 32.38 MMT of cane, up 2.2 percent YoY. Sugar output is down 23.8 percent at 1.34 MMT due to a sugar share of 33 percent, down almost 15 points from a year ago. Ethanol output is up 44.5 percent: down 1.4 percent for anhydrous, but up 83.5 percent for hydrous, clearly showing that Brazilian drivers are favoring E100 fuel. April-May domestic ethanol sales are up 3.3 percent YoY, but export sales are down 31.6 percent.

Brazilian truck windshield displaying “strike” sign in Portuguese.

Source: 123rf.com
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