Brazilian ethanol push may help stave off sugar malaise

Brazilian ethanol and sugar company Copersucar believes resurgence in the country’s biofuels industry will help growing global sugar surplus.

CEO Paulo Roberto de Souza claimed his company only sold one-third of its early crop directly to the sugar industry, but a growing need in the ethanol industry will help stabilise prices which fell below $0.17 (€0.13) per pound for the first time in nearly three years.

The reason for this optimism is because the Brazilian government has mandated an increase of ethanol blended into fuel from 20 to 25% since the beginning of May.

It has been reported that Copersucar will use 42% of its yearly crop to sugar production, which includes 135 million tonnes shared between their own production and subsidiaries.