May 9, 2007

Brazil's ethanol production to grow 13.5 percent in 2007/2008 harvest

Brazil will produce 20.2 billion litres of ethanol in the 2007-08 harvest, up 13.5 percent from the year-ago period, according to Jose Nilton de Souza Vieira, the agriculture ministry's sugarcane and agroenergy secretary.

This projection, which runs from May 2007-April 2008, indicates Brazil is set to produce 31.3 million tonnes of sugar, up 5 percent from the 2006/2007 harvest.

More than 50 percent of the sugarcane and ethanol mills in centre-south Brazil already are working on sugarcane crushing as this region accounts for 85 percent of sugarcane production in Brazil.

The ministry estimates the volume of sugarcane for sugar and ethanol production will reach 420 million tonnes in the centre-south region.

The government's produce and grains supplies company, Conab, this week will publish an update on Brazil's 2006-07 grain harvest.