Brazil millers claim current sugar prices are limiting production growth
Brazilian millers said that the current reference price for raw sugar is not high enough to justify investments in new plants and that marginal gains from production adjustments in existing plants are nearing their limit. The sugar demand is growing at a rate of 2% annually, but production has been affected by factors like climate change and policies that blend biofuels with gasoline in India.
Trader Wilmar reduces projections for Brazil sugar production
Wilmar International, a commodities trader based in Asia, cut its forecasts for sugar production by Brazil in 2024/25 due to the rapid decline in agricultural yields and quality of canes caused by fires and dryness in farmland. Wilmar now expects Brazil’s Centre-South production to be between 38.2 million metric tons and 39.5 millions metric tons. This is down from the 38.8-40.8% tons that were seen in September.
The traders estimate that the ICE raw sugar shipment for October will be around 1.7 million tons.
According to three sugar traders, the estimated raw sugar deliveries at the end of the contract for October on ICE were around 33,500 tons or 1.7 million metric tonnes. The traders said that Wilmar International, a commodities trader based in Singapore, was the only receiver of sugar. Sucden is the largest supplier with 22,500 lots. The traders also said that Viterra and Louis Dreyfus delivered sugar at the expiry.
BofA: Sugar prices will be supported by a smaller Brazil crop
Bank of America Global Research stated in a Monday note that the benchmark raw sugar price in New York is expected to remain firm and may even go up due to tight global supply of sweetener. The bank's analysts said that cane crushing was below expectations in Brazil, which is the world's biggest sugar producer and exporter "because of the dry weather conditions and recent wildfires" in Sao Paulo.
Brazil sugar production drops in July; cane yields fall 10%
Sugar production in Brazil’s center-south area totaled 3,61 million metric tonnes in the second half July. This is a drop of 2.16% on an annual basis. Meanwhile, sugarcane yields have decreased as the crop struggles with drier conditions. Unica, a group of industry experts, said that in its report published on Tuesday, sugarcane crushing for the period reached 51.31 millions tons, down 3.35 percent year-over-year.
Brazil Breaks Oil Output Record in January
Oil companies produced 3.17 million barrels per day (bpd) on average in Brazil in January, a volume 20.4% larger than seen in the same month a year earlier and an output record for the country, oil regulator ANP said on Wednesday. Natural gas production increased 22% over January 2019 to 138.7 million cubic meters per day on average last month, also a record.
Brazilian Beaches Hit by Second Oil Spill
Crude oil smudges have been spotted at some Brazilian beaches in the northeast state of Ceará, the country's navy said on Monday, almost two months after the area was hit by another oil slick.That was part of a broader spill, whose origin remains a mystery, that stained hundreds of beaches on Brazil's northeast coast between September and November, threatening marine life…
Brazil Government to Pay Petrobras $9 Bln
The Brazilian government reached a landmark deal to pay state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA $9.058 billion for revising a transfer-of-rights oil contract, Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque said on Tuesday.Albuquerque told reporters after a meeting in Brasilia that the agreement opens the way for the government to auction off the excess oil in the transfer-of-rights area…
Petrobras Names Former Vale Exec as CFO
Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, named Andrea Marques de Almeida, an engineer and former executive at mining company Vale SA, as its new chief financial officer, according to a securities filing.Andrea Almeida will replace Rafael Salvador Grisolia, who will take over as chief executive of the company's fuel distribution unit Petrobras Distribuidora SA.
Petrobras Plans to Slash Opex by $8.1 Bln
Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, announced plans to cut $8.1 billion from its operational costs in the period from 2019 through 2023, according to a securities filing released on Friday.Petrobras said it intends to reach that economy on costs mainly with reductions in expenses with employees -- it will launch a voluntary lay-off plan soon -- and with lower expenditures in advertisement and office sp
Brazil's Cosan Eying Refining Partnership with Petrobras
Brazil's Cosan SA Indústria e Comércio, a leading ethanol producer and fuel distributor, is interested in refining partnerships with oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, its chairman Rubens Ometto said on Tuesday.The company is "looking at" potential partnerships, but it will depend on the model that Petrobras, as the company is known, sets for selling stakes in its Brazilian refineries.
Petrobras Test Well at Mero Field Reached 58,000 BPD
Oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, said on Wednesday it finished a long-term test at the Mero field in the Libra pre-salt area with positive results.The Brazilian company said in a statement that the well used for the test in Mero reached an average production of 58,000 barrels per day, considered by the firm as very good taking into account the ultra-deep characteristics of the pre-salt reserve.(Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira)
Oil Workers Strike at Petrobras
The FUP oil workers union in Brazil said on Wednesday that workers joined the call for a nationwide strike on at least 20 oil rigs in lucrative Campos basin, along with several other areas around the country.The 72-hour strike was called to protest the fuel pricing policies of Petroleo Brasileiro SA and to demand the resignation of chief executive Pedro Parente.
Eletrobras Shares Sink After Privatization Decision
Shares of Brazil's state-run power company Eletrobras fell over 9 percent in early trading after a Congressional decision late on Tuesday to not vote on one of the decrees regarding the privatization of the company and some of its subsidiaries.The head of Brazil's lower house, Rodrigo Maia, said it would not put for a vote a presidential decree outlining rules for the sale of public power companies, asking President Michel Temer to send a dr
Brazil's Ethanol Demand Jumps 55 pct in January
Brazil's ethanol demand reached 1.37 billion liters in January, 55 percent more than in the same month a year earlier, cane industry group Unica said on Monday, as car owners switched from gasoline to the biofuel due to a large price difference at the pump. The Unica report, based on data from oil and fuels regulator ANP, showed that ethanol consumption was the largest for any January.
Petrobras to Sell Pasadena Refinery in the US
Brazil's state-controlled oil company, Petróleo Brasileiro SA, said on Tuesday it had started taking steps to sell its refinery in Pasadena, Texas, an installation ensnared in Brazil's largest corruption scandal. Petrobras, as the company is known, said its U.S. subsidiary, Petrobras America Inc, would soon open a non-binding phase for interested companies to communicate willingness to take part in negotiations for the 110…
Petrobras Making 'Interesting Discoveries' in Campos Basin -CEO
Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA is making 'interesting discoveries' in blocs at the Campos basin, off the Rio de Janeiro coast, where it is drilling deeper to reach the pre-salt layer, Chief Executive Pedro Parente said on Wednesday. Parente did not give details about the discoveries, which have been made in mature fields being operated for years by the company.
Engie, Elecnor Win Licenses to Build Power Lines in Brazil
French energy group Engie SA and Celeo Redes, a firm controlled by Spain's Elecnor , won licenses on Friday to build and operate power transmission lines in Brazil for 30 years during a government-sponsored auction in Sao Paulo. The projects awarded to the two companies will demand investments of around 3 billion reais, Brazil's regulator Aneel said. In total…
Eletrobras to Complete Part of Divestitures by H1 2018
Brazil's state-controlled power holding company Eletrobras expects to complete most of its divestiture program by the end of first half next year, Chief Executive Wilson Ferreira Jr said on Tuesday. Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras SA, as the company is formally known, is in talks to sell minority stakes in dozens of power transmission and power generation projects.
Petrobras Q3 Net Profit Falls, Misses Estimates for Large Rise
Petróleo Brasileiro SA's third-quarter profit fell compared with the second quarter, the Brazilian state-controlled oil giant said on Monday, missing analysts' forecasts for a big rise. Petrobras posted net profit of 266 million reais ($81.1 million) in the quarter, compared with a profit of 316 million reais in the prior three months, and far below the average consensus estimate of 3.21 billion reais compiled by Thomson Reuters.
