Brazil Center South Sugar Cane Output Seen Rebounding Next Year
2014-10-13 18:37:25.84 GMT


By Marvin G. Perez
Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s main growing region may produce 575m mt of cane, up from 552m projected this season, as damage from 1Q drought eases, says Julio Maria Borges, head of Sao Paulo-based consultant Job Economia e Planejamento Ltda.
* Figures compare with 597m harvested last yr, as estimated by industry group Unica
* Est. for next yr assumes increased rains Nov.-March, he says in telephone interview Oct. 10
* Replantings may be limited after producers hurt by a drop in sugar prices, he says
* NOTE: Through Oct. 10, raw-sugar futures plunged 48% since the end of 2010 amid ample global supplies
* Financial status of mills is “awful, worst that we’ve seen in the past 10 yrs”
* NOTE: Brazil is world’s No. 1 producer and exporter, and Center South accounts for ~ 90% of nation’s total cane.