Friday 28 June 2013

Commodities Buzz: Sugar Crushing Activity Losing Pace In Brazil

Brazilian Sugar industry officials highlighted some worries over the cane output in the country's main producing region and helped provide a floor under the sugar prices. Mills in Brazil's Centre South region, responsible for some 90% of the country's sugar output, produced 1.78m tonnes of sugar in the first half of this month, cane industry group Unica said. The output is easing due to rain delays, and highlighted the growing appeal of turning cane into ethanol instead.
While a 30% jump on output in the first half of June 2012, when crushers suffered severe rain delays, the figure was below the 1.85m tonnes produced in the second half of May, and the 2.07m tonnes produced in the first half of May, the strongest period for manufacturing the sweetener so far in 2013-14.
Besides slowing cane volumes - which came in at 35.1m tonnes, some 5m tonnes less than mills achieved when running at full tilt in the first half of May - the rains also lowered the concentrations of sugars in cane. Sugar levels fell to 125.3 kilogrammes per tonne of cane, from 132.81 kilogrammes per tonne in late May, according to Unica.
New York Benchmark raw sugar futures had slipped to a three-year low of 16.48 cents per pound in the middle of June but have witnessed some bargain buying thereafter. The latest updates from Unica could help it find a floor and pare some of the excessive losses seen in last few moths.
Source by Commodity Insights

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