By Roberto Samora and Marcelo Teixeira
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Sao Paulo stated there have been no extra energetic fires in sugarcane fields within the state on Monday following a surge in instances since late final week, however dozens of municipalities are nonetheless on excessive alert for fires.
Sao Paulo is by far the most important sugar producing state in Brazil, the world’s prime producer and exporter of the sweetener. Extraordinarily dry circumstances after months with out rain led to a surge in unintentional fires that shortly unfold to hundreds of hectares of cane fields that burned into the weekend.
Brazil’s largest sugar group Raizen SA stated on Monday it resumed operations at its Santa Elisa mill on Sunday. The plant needed to be evacuated and shut on Thursday because of the proximity of the fires.
Brazil’s sugar and ethanol trade group UNICA stated it’ll begin to make an evaluation of the state of affairs within the fields within the coming days. The group stated its related mills labored with the Sao Paulo authorities in current days to fight the flames.
Sugar costs jumped greater than 3% in New York on Monday following the Brazil fires.
The burned sugarcane may nonetheless be harvested and processed, stated Caio Carvalho, a sugar knowledgeable with Canaplan consultancy, however he added that mills might want to rush to do it quickly as a result of the cane begins dropping high quality after simply a few days following the burning.
Citi analysts stated the drought and the fires will probably have a destructive impression, as effectively within the subsequent crop in 2025, since some burned fields had cane that was already rising for the subsequent season.
The Sao Paulo authorities stated that 48 municipalities within the state had been nonetheless underneath excessive alert for fires.
Some areas within the southern a part of the state obtained gentle rains over the weekend, however the forecast is for dry climate in coming days.
