Copersucar foresees growing 21% in 2011
Valor Econômico
Largest seller of sugar and ethanol in the country, Copersucar foresees reaching unprecedented marks in the next sugarcane crop, 2011/12. The first is that the volume of sugar and alcohol operated should break a new record. It is expected that the products come from (associated and non-associated) plants amounting to a crushing capacity of 138 million tons of sugarcane, 21% greater than the current crop, which is already in the final stage. The other bark will come with the first operation of railway transportation of sugar in large-scale. The estimate is to move 1 million tons of the commodity through such modal.
Growth in 2011 considers a relative stability among the 39 already associated plants (belonging to 21 groups), as well as among the plants from which Copersucar only originates products - that is, non-associated plants. "The increase will come mainly from the entrance of new associated units that should add nearly 20 million tons of sugarcane crushing capacity", says Luis Roberto Pogetti, Chairman of the Board of Copersucar. The company will increase from 7 million to 8 million tons the volume of sugar traded in 2011/12 and from 4.3 billion for 5 billion liters of ethanol.
Next year, the company will continue with its program of investments in logistics, which will demand in five years, including 2010, investments of R$ 1.5 billion (US$ 882.4 million), and includes an alcohol pipeline. The first project to come out of the paper is that of the terminal for the rail transshipment of sugar of São José do Rio Preto (SP), which began working in the end of this harvest, but shall achieve a volume of 1 million ton of the commodity on the rails of América Latina Logística (ALL), its partner in the operation the next harvest. "In two years, the capacity will be increased to 2 million tons", says Pogetti.
The railroad will take the product to the port of Santos, where Copersucar has a terminal for 5.5 million tons per harvest, and is being enlarged to reach 7.5 million tons. "The port is speeding up the works for the increase of the dredging, which will allow us to increase our capacity", says Pogetti. The company also foresees investing resources in the building of a transshipment station for sugar and alcohol in the interior, besides increasing the ethanol tanking capacity in some key municipalities.