[Unica] Sugarcane Harvest Update for the 2025/26 Season – First Half of March

According to the latest data released by the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (Unica), the Center-South region of Brazil processed 1.31 million tons of sugarcane during the first half of March (March 1-15) of the 2025/26 harvest season. Despite 18 production units commencing operations during this period, sugarcane processing volume saw a 29.7% year-on-year decrease. Regarding raw material quality, the average Total Recoverable Sugars (ATR) content in the first half of March was 99.29 kg per ton of sugarcane, marking a 0.4% increase compared to the same period in the previous harvest. This indicates a slight improvement in the sugar content of the cane, even with reduced processing volumes. In terms of sugar production, a total of 6.02 thousand tons of sugar were manufactured in the first fifteen days of March, with 4.86% of the sugarcane directed towards sugar production. This represents a substantial year-on-year decrease of 88.6%. This sharp decline could reflect shifts in production strategies or changes in market demand. Ethanol production, however, showed an upward trend. Ethanol output in the Center-South region reached 459.67 million liters, an increase of 3.8% compared to the same period last year. Within this, anhydrous ethanol production was 168.41 million liters, surging by 127.6% year-on-year, while hydrated ethanol production stood at 291.26 million liters, a decrease of 21%. Notably, 84.11% of the ethanol produced during this fortnight, amounting to 386.62 million liters, was derived from corn, an increase from 365.46 million liters in the same period of the 2024/25 cycle, highlighting the growing importance of corn in ethanol production. Cumulatively for the 2025/26 harvest season, up to March 16, sugarcane milling reached 603.67 million tons, compared to 617.32 million tons in the same period of the previous cycle, representing a cumulative decrease of 2.21%. The cumulative ATR indicator for the season stands at 138.25 kg of ATR per ton of sugarcane, which is 2.17% lower than the same period last season.