Sugarcane harvest grew 2,4% in the North and Northeast

The volume of sugarcane processed in the North and Northeast in the 2024-2025 harvest maintained its growth trajectory at the end of the first half of December, reaching 39,97 million tons. According to data from the Association of Sugar, Ethanol and Bioenergy Producers (NovaBio), an entity that brings together 35 sugar and energy plants in 11 Brazilian states, production grew 2,4% until December 15 compared to the same period of the previous harvest, with plants in the Northeast accounting for 32,64 million tons, or 81,67% of the total processed, while those in the North region reached 7,32 million tons, or 18,31% of the total.

With 65% of the harvest already completed in both regions, the current agricultural cycle was marked by the lack of regular rainfall, which reduced the total milling projection for the current harvest from 63 to 62 million tons. However, according to NovaBio CEO Renato Cunha, the drought resulted in a higher concentration of Total Recoverable Sugar (TRS) per ton of sugarcane.

“With this, the levels of sucrose extracted from the plant allowed the production of final products in greater volume compared to the previous harvest, especially in the cases of sugar and hydrated ethanol”, highlights the executive, who also presides over the Sugar and Alcohol Industry Union in the State of Pernambuco (Sindaçúcar/PE).

Until December 15, sugar production maintained its growth pace and reached 2,51 million tons, an increase of 15,1% compared to the 2,18 million tons produced in the same period of the 2023-2024 season. In the current harvest, the Northeast is expected to continue to export approximately 62% of its sugar production through the ports of Maceió (AL), Recife (PE), Suape (PE), João Pessoa (PB) and Natal (RN).

Of the total ethanol production in the North and Northeast compared to the same period of the previous milling, hydrated ethanol, available at the pumps to supply flex-fuel vehicles, registered an increase of 26,9%, reaching 1,02 billion liters against 809 million liters in 2023-2024. Anhydrous ethanol, which is mixed with gasoline, totaled 612,6 million liters, a drop of 24,7% compared to the 813,2 million liters produced in the last agricultural cycle.

For the CEO of NovaBio, this decline in anhydrous ethanol is mainly due to the lack of rules that provide greater competitiveness to biofuels compared to gasoline. “When the world is looking for sustainable solutions for the transportation sector, it makes no sense that Brazil, one of the world leaders in ethanol production, has unpredictable fuel pricing,” Cunha points out.

The president of NovaBio states that the mills and the sector's production chain believe in an expansion of the national anhydrous ethanol market, with the consolidation of new levels of blending in gasoline. “The increase in the blend from the current 27% to 30%, scheduled for the end of March, will increase the size of this market by more than 11%, bringing even more sustainability to national gasoline,” he concluded.

The total ethanol produced, adding the anhydrous and hydrated volumes, showed growth of 1%, reaching 1,63 billion liters compared to 1,62 billion liters produced until the end of the first half of December 2023.

In the same comparative period, the physical stock of ethanol, adding the 253,8 million liters of hydrated and 217,6 million liters of anhydrous, reached 471,4 million liters, higher than the 436,3 million liters stored in the 2023-2024 harvest.

Sugarcane production by state up to December 15 reached the following levels:

Amazonas 0,36 million tons

Maranhao 2,14 million tons

Pará 1,32 million tons

Piauí 1,12 million tons

Tocantins 2,36 million tons

Alagoas 10,68 million tons

Pernambuco 8,68 million tons

Bahia 4,59 million tons

Paraíba 4,84 million tons

Rio Grande do Norte 2,42 million tons

Sergipe 1,40 million tons

Total up to December 15: 39,97 million tons of sugarcane.