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Feb 6 2007 11:18AM
Cane output in Brazil likely to rise 12%
Sao Paulo, Feb 06 - After weeks of punishing rains, Brazil's main center-south sugarcane region will be aided by a bit more sunlight and bouts of afternoon showers over the next 10 days, said local weather agency Climatempo on Monday. If weather conditions stay favorable, Brazil's upcoming center-south sugarcane harvest is expected to be another record one, with a probable increase of 8%-12% above the record 371 million metric tonnes harvested in the 2006-07 season, said the Union of Sugarcane Industries, or Unica. The country's center-south region accounts for more than 85% of Brazil's total sugar and ethanol output. "The weather will be clearer across the region, with sun as well as flurries of showers in the afternoons," said Marcelo Pinheiro, a Climatempo meteorologist. A wetter-than-usual January had provoked concerns among local millers that the health of Brazil's upcoming 2007-08 cane crop [May-April] could be endangered, if the sun didn't come out soon. In some municipalities across Sao Paulo, Parana and Minas Gerais states, rainfall last month exceeded double the monthly average. Sun is necessary for the sugarcane plant to grow to its full height, said local millers and agronomists. In addition to more sunlight in the coming week, roughly 40-50 millimeters of rain is forecast to hit the north of Parana state, the interior of Sao Paulo and the Minas Triangle area between Tuesday and Saturday, with another 40 millimeters of rainfall expected across all regions between Sunday and next Thursday, said Pinheiro. Brazil is the world's No. 1 sugar producer and exporter. It is also the world's No. 2 ethanol producer after the U.S., but no. 1 ethanol exporter.
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