Brazil Usina Batatais expects to crush 6.1m t of sugar cane in 2013/14 crop year

Mar 13, 2013 - Brazilian sugar and ethanol maker Usina Batatais SA, which has two mills located in southeastern Sao Paulo state, is starting the 2013/2014 crop season with the projection of crushing 6.1 million tonnes of sugar cane during the period.
The volume would represent a 24% hike compared with the amount processed in the previous harvest.
The company's Batatais mill will strive to crush 3.85 million tonnes of sugar cane, compared with 3.5 million tonnes processed in 2012/13. The unit's ethanol output is planned at 131 million litres (34.6m gallons), while sugar production is seen to reach 286,000 tonnes.
The company's Lins mill, in turn, is projected to crush a total 2.25 million tonnes of sugar cane, up 59% in annual terms. The ethanol and sugar output estimates for the Lins facility were not disclosed by the company.
Usina Batatais SA has recently requested a loan worth BRL 104 million (USD 52.9m/EUR 40.6m) from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The resources are earmarked for the renewal of the company's sugar cane plantations and for investment in technological improvements in an effort to boost its crystal sugar and anhydrous ethanol production. It has also applied for a BRL 180 million financing from Brazil's National Social and Economic Development Bank (BNDES) in order to guarantee the execution of the upgrade projects, budgeted at a total BRL 588.7 million.
(BRL 1 = USD 0.509/EUR 0.391)

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