Ethanol Prices May Delay Brazil Sugar Production, Kingsman Says

Bloomberg
By Isis Almeida - Mar 23, 2011 12:36 PM CT

Sugar output in Brazil, the world’s largest producer, may be delayed by soaring ethanol prices and above-average rainfall, according to broker and researcher Kingsman SA.

Brazilian ethanol prices “skyrocketed” over the past week, jumping as much as 20 percent, figures from Lausanne, Switzerland-based Kingsman show. Rains this month may hurt sugar-cane yields in the main Brazilian producing region, said Patricia Luis-Manso, Kingsman’s ethanol analyst.

Sugar production in Brazil may only get under way in early May because of the initial concentration on ethanol, according to Fabienne Pointier, Kingsman’s sugar analyst. The bulk of the national cane crop is usually harvested between March and December in the Center South region.

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