In the first fortnight of April, the moment that marks the opening of the 2026/27 harvest for the sector, two thirds of sugarcane production was destined for the manufacture of ethanol, according to a survey by Unica (Union of Sugarcane and Bioenergy Industries) released this Thursday (30).
Grinding in the Center-South region reached 19.56 million tons, an increase of 19.67% compared to the same period in 2025.
Ethanol production totaled 1.23 billion liters, an increase of 33.32% compared to 2025. Of this total, 879.87 million liters were of hydrated ethanol (a jump of 18.54%), and 350.2 million liters of anhydrous ethanol.
During the period, corn ethanol production increased 15.06% compared to the same period in 2025 and totaled 411.94 million liters (33.49% of the total produced in the country).
At the same time, sugar production fell by 11.94% and totaled 647.21 thousand tons.
In total, 195 production units were in operation at the end of the fortnight — 177 processing sugarcane, 10 dedicated to corn ethanol and 8 flex plants —, reflecting the entry of 126 units in the first fifteen days of April, added to the 52 that were already operating in the second half of March.
The quality of the raw material remained stable, with an ATR of 103.36 kg per ton, a reduction of 0.10% compared to the same period in the last cycle.
According to the director of Sector Intelligence, Regulation and Competitiveness at Unica, Luciano Rodrigues, the increase in ethanol production guarantees security for the domestic market. “This movement reflects the favorable market conditions for ethanol at the beginning of the harvest and, at the same time, offers greater security to domestic supply at a time when many countries are facing energy uncertainties”, highlighted.
Ethanol sales
Ethanol sales on the domestic market in the period analyzed reached 1.25 billion liters and the sector’s expectation is that the number will increase in the coming weeks. “The expectation is for consistent growth in sales as the price drop already observed at the factory gate is transmitted to the end consumer. In the first half of April, consumer prices still did not reflect the movement seen in the producer link — this transfer, when it occurs, should increase the attractiveness of hydrated ethanol at gas stations”, explained Rodrigues.
Production in the 2025/26 harvest
In the 2025/26 harvest, the plants processed 611.15 million tons of sugar cane, according to a Unica survey, a decrease of 10.78 million tons compared to the previous season.
Sugar production totaled 40.43 million tons, a similar number to 2024/25 (40.18 million tons).
The volume of ethanol fell 3.56% compared to the historic record for the 2024/25 cycle, totaling 33.72 billion liters. Of this total, 20.83 billion were hydrated ethanol (a decrease of 7.82% compared to the last cycle) and 12.89 billion were anhydrous ethanol (second highest value in the historical series).
Corn ethanol production also grew in the period and totaled 9.19 billion liters (a jump of 12.26%), which corresponds to 27.28% of the annual production of biofuels in Brazil.
Ethanol sales in the cycle totaled 20.34 billion liters, with an emphasis on anhydrous ethanol, which totaled 13.04 billion liters, driven by E30 (increase in the percentage of ethanol in gasoline from 27% to 30%) in August 2025.
“In the 2025/2026 cycle, in addition to the savings of R$4 billion generated for vehicle owners flex-fuelethanol consumption prevented the emission of 50 million tons of greenhouse gases — the highest result in the historical series. This performance reflects the consistent participation of hydrated ethanol in the supply of the Brazilian fleet of light vehicles”, highlighted Unica, in a note
Retreat in productivity
The survey reveals a marginal drop, of 4.1%, in the agricultural productivity index driven by Minas Gerais (15%), Goiás (9.4%) and São Paulo (4.3%). According to data from the CTC (Center for Sugarcane Technologies), the index in this harvest was 74.7 tons per hectare.
The quality of the raw material reduced by 2.34% compared to the previous cycle, due to climate problems.
*Under the supervision of Fernanda Pressinott
