Brazil’s sugar and ethanol sector is showing early momentum ahead of the new harvest season, with fresh data from UNICA highlighting a rise in processing activity in early March.
Mills in the key south-central region processed 1.31 million metric tonnes of sugarcane in the first half of the month. However, cumulative crushing since the start of the 2025–26 season on April 1 has reached 617.32 million tonnes, down 2.21 percent compared to the same period last year.
Ethanol production during the two-week period stood at 459.67 million litres, including 291.26 million litres of hydrous ethanol and 168.41 million litres of anhydrous ethanol. Corn-based ethanol continued to dominate, contributing 386.62 million litres, or over 84 percent of total output, Ethanol Producer Magazine reported.
For the ongoing season, total ethanol production has reached 32.96 billion litres. This includes 20.31 billion litres of hydrous ethanol and 12.65 billion litres of anhydrous ethanol. Corn ethanol output has risen to 8.77 billion litres, marking a 12.31 percent increase over last year.
On the sales side, mills sold 1.25 billion litres of ethanol in the first half of March, with hydrous ethanol accounting for 747.15 million litres and anhydrous ethanol 504.88 million litres.
Domestic sales trends were mixed. Hydrous ethanol sales declined by 10.7 percent to 722.08 million litres, while anhydrous ethanol sales increased by 5.18 percent to around 504 million litres.
Cumulative ethanol sales for the current season have reached 32.85 billion litres, including 12.75 billion litres of anhydrous ethanol, up 5.08 percent, and 20.1 billion litres of hydrous ethanol, down 8.16 percent.
The latest data suggests that while overall sugarcane processing remains slightly below last year’s levels, ethanol production and sales are gaining pace as the industry prepares for the upcoming harvest.
