Brazil sugarcane harvest disrupted by heavy rainfall

Excessive rainfall in central-southern Brazil is significantly hindering the sugarcane harvest and impacting port operations. According to research from Datagro, the average amount of cane milled per mill in the central-south region dropped to 76,242 metric tons per week for the period ending September 27, down from 105,844 metric tons per week in early August.

Due to the inability of machinery to operate effectively in high humidity, Datagro estimates that approximately 35 million tons of sugarcane will remain in the fields and can only be processed around March of next year. This weather pattern, linked to El Niño, has resulted in the most recent winter being the wettest in 110 years in the Piracicaba sugar region, according to monitoring by the University of São Paulo.

The production difficulties have also affected global markets, with sugar prices rising up to 5% in New York as a result of the supply concerns in Brazil.