Brazil invests €624 million in sugarcane programme

Brazilian state-development bank Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES) will provide 1.9 billion reais (€624 million) in funding to companies looking to grow operations at ethanol and sugar plants.

BNDES and Brazil's research-financing agency Finep have so far chosen 35 projects from 29 companies for loans under the PAISS programme.

The budget has increased by 30% from the 1.48 billion reais previously scheduled.

The PAISS programme's aim is to increase income at plants by generating more value from cane, increasing margins at a time when production costs surge and ethanol prices drop.