RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil’s sugar mills can make the switch into ethanol easier than ever before, making it harder to predict how much sweetener will come from the world’s biggest producer and exporter.
Take the case of Sao Paulo-based Usina Batatais. Just two years ago, no matter how low sugar prices got, the company had no choice but send at least 45% of crops into producing the sweetener. Now, after investing in expansion, that number has dropped to about 36% for the 2019-2020 season, Luiz Gustavo Junqueira, the group’s commercial director, said in an interview.