Ethanol production increased in the second half of January in Brazil’s main sugarcane region, with corn emerging as the dominant raw material, according to data released by UNICA, the country’s sugarcane industry association, Ethanol Producer Magazine reported.
Mills in Brazil’s Centre-South region processed 608,930 metric tonnes of sugarcane during the second half of January. However, total sugarcane crushing since the start of the current harvest season on April 1, 2025 has reached 601.64 million metric tonnes, which is 2.16% lower than the volume recorded during the same period of the previous season.
During the two-week period, ethanol production reached 439.44 million litres. This included 255.83 million litres of hydrous ethanol, which increased by 7.59%, and 183.61 million litres of anhydrous ethanol, which rose by 11.81%. Corn-based ethanol accounted for 90.67% of the total ethanol produced during the period.
Since the beginning of the current harvest season, ethanol production in the region has reached 31.71 billion litres, representing a decline of 4.64% compared with the same period last season. This output includes 19.56 billion litres of hydrous ethanol, down 7.61%, and 12.15 billion litres of anhydrous ethanol, which increased by 0.54%.
Corn ethanol production has continued to expand, reaching 7.65 billion litres so far this season, marking an increase of 13.05% compared with the same period of the previous harvest.
The association also reported that mills sold 2.85 billion litres of ethanol in January. Sales included 1.23 billion litres of anhydrous ethanol, which rose by 9.58%, while hydrous ethanol sales stood at 1.62 billion litres, down 15.32%.
Domestic sales in January included 1.6 billion litres of hydrous ethanol, showing a decline of 11.97%, and 1.19 billion litres of anhydrous ethanol, which increased by 9.79%.
Overall ethanol sales since the start of the current harvest season have reached 29.14 billion litres, down 2.45%. This total includes 11.18 billion litres of anhydrous ethanol, up 5.27%, and 17.97 billion litres of hydrous ethanol, which declined by 6.7%.
