Brazil Vessel Lineup for Sugar 60% Behind 2017
The lineup of vessels to load sugar in Brazil currently is around 60 percent smaller than seen in the same period a year earlier because of lower output and tepid foreign demand, midway through the first month of the country's new cane crop. Ten vessels were at Brazilian ports in the first week of April to load 393,500 tonnes of sugar, according to data from shipping agency Williams. At this time last year, 23 ships were at port to take on 950,400 tonnes. "The main reason for that is the smaller production in Brazil…
Brazil's Sugar Output Slows Due to Rains
Sugar output from Brazil's main center-south cane region slipped in the second half of July to 2.24 million tonnes, down from the 2.55 million tonne output in the prior two weeks due to rains over the productive region, the cane industry said on Tuesday. In its latest biweekly crushing report, industry association Unica said cumulative sugar output since the start of the season in April had reached 15.13 million tonnes by July 31, up 9 percent from the same period a year ago. (Reporting by Reese Ewing; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Dry Weather Hastens Brazil Sugar Output but Hurts Maturing Crop
Brazil's main center-south cane crop produced 2.33 million metric tons of sugar in the first half of June, up from the 2.03 million metric tons in late May as clear weather helped crushing, the main sugar and ethanol lobby Unica said on Wednesday. In its biweekly report on the harvest, Unica said, however, that the lack of rain was at the same time hurting the development of the cane that is due to mature later in the year. "The persistence of the drier climate since the start of harvest ... is severely hurting the development of the plants, intensifying the agricultural losses," Unica's technical director Antonio de Padua Rodrigues said. (Reporting by Reese Ewing and Fabiola Gomes)
Poor Soy Crushing Margins in China to Improve
Poor soy crushing margins in China that have led the country to default on soy purchases are short term and should improve in two to three months, Bunge Ltd's chief executive officer said. CEO Soren Schroder was in Brazil for the inauguration on Friday of Bunge's terminal in Barcarena in Para state on Brazil's northern coast, which cost 700 million reais ($314 million) to build and has a capacity of 4 million tonnes. "Margins in China are bad for everyone," Schroder said at a dinner late on Thursday. But "it's a short-term problem," he added.
