Brazil's 2017/18 sugar output falls to 37.86mn tonnes

SAO PAULO: Total sugar production in Brazil in the 2017/18 cane crop, considering all producing regions, fell to 37.86 million tonnes compared to 38.69 million tonnes in the previous season, the Brazilian government said on Tuesday.

The drop in sugar production was in part caused by tighter availability of cane, according to agricultural statistics agency Conab's final forecast for the 2017/18 crop. Conab saw cane production falling to 633 million tonnes in 2017/18 compared to 657 million tonnes in previous season, as ageing fields produced smaller volumes.

Total ethanol output fell only slightly to 27.76 billion liters from 27.8 billion liters in 2016/17.