Rain to Return to Brazil’s Sugar-Cane Areas After Sept. 20

(Businessweek) – Sugar-cane growing areas in Brazil, the world’s largest producer, will get rains again starting Sept. 20 after dry weather helped accelerate the harvest last month, according to forecaster Somar Meteorologia.

Sugar-cane processing in the center south, the country’s main growing region climbed 14 percent to a record 46.5 million metric tons in the second half of August, according to data from industry group Unica. In the first 15 days of that month, the so-called crush advanced 14 percent to 44.2 million tons, the data showed. Above average rains in May and June delayed the crop, with cane processing for the season through Aug. 31 down 9.4 percent to 307.6 million tons, Unica estimates.

“It has already rained in Parana and Sao Paulo yesterday, with some isolated showers,” Celso Oliveira, a meteorologist at Somar, said by phone from Sao Paulo today. “After Sept. 20, rains will return to most areas in Brazil’s center south.”

Wet weather in October may be 10 to 15 percent above average, while rainfall in September as a whole will be below average, Oliveira said. The rain may disrupt the sugar cane harvest starting in the second half of October, he said.

“In recent years, the harvest has become much mechanized and machines aren’t as efficient as workers, so we may see some difficulties,” Oliveira said. The soil is expected to be“soaked” by Oct. 15 and that would make harvesting challenging, he said.

Raw sugar traded in New York jumped 8.2 percent in June and 7.8 percent in July after rain delayed the harvest and shipment from Brazil. The country is collecting its 2012-13 crop.

To contact the reporter on this story: Isis Almeida in London at  ialmeida3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at  ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net