Brazil’s sugar cane crop in the 2005/2006 growing year should reach 450.2 million tons, of which 401.5 million will be utilized by the sugar and alcohol industry.
218.7 million tons will be used to manufacture 27.2 million tons of sugar, and 182.8 million tons will be used to produce 17.5 billion liters of alcohol (hydrated, anhydrous, and neutral).
The rest, 48.7 million tons, will be used to manufacture other products, such as sugar cane liquor (“cachaça”), brown sugar bars (“rapadura”), and animal feed.
The area in which sugar cane was planted was estimated at 6.094 million hectares. These numbers are part of the National Supply Company’s (Conab) 1st official sugar cane survey.
Field data were gathered in the second half of May by 71 members of the technical staff, who interviewed 465 representatives of 365 sugar refineries and alcohol distilleries and 60 producers’ associations and government agencies.
ABr