Sugar race stimulates investments in plants in the Mid-South
Valor Econômico
Influenced by the strong sugar price increase in the international exchanges, which this year has already reached 89% at the New York Exchange, part of the sugar and alcohol groups of the Mid-South of the country have started investing in sugar plants in ethanol exclusive units. Those that produce sugar in their units, however, are increasing the capacity of their plants to take advantage of the increase in the price of the commodities.
The inquiries for this kind of investment intensified after July and a part of them has already been converted into orders. The investments in these plants range between R$ 40 million (US$ 21.6 million) to R$ 60 million (US$ 32.4 million), depending on the size of the project, according to the companies consulted by Valor. The investments in sugar plants are still punctual, restricted to less leveraged groups that feature a not so delicate financial situation, which is not the case of most plants of the sector.
With sugar profile, Açúcar Guarani, controlled by the French Tereos group, decided to advance in one year the investments scheduled for the São Paulo unit of Tanabi, informed Jacyr Costa, the President of the company. The unit was scheduled to receive the investment as of 2010. Also with an eye on the higher remuneration of the commodity, Bunge should advance its investments in a sugar plant in its Pedro Afonso (TO) unit, with the beginning of the operations scheduled for 2010.
For Antonio de Padua Rodrigues, Technical Officer of the Unica (Union of the Sugar-Cane Industry), a great part of the investments, at this moment, should be focused on the increase of the sugar productive capacity in the currently installed plants. Rodrigues believes that projects for the building of new plants should take place when the sector is more capitalized.
The Cosan group, with 23 producing units, has decided to increase the sugar productive capacity in three units of São Paulo, affirmed Pedro Mizutani, General Vice-President of the group. According to him, these investments should increase the production of these plants by 10%. For Josias Messias, President of the Procana - Sugar and Alcohol Information Center -, these recent investments should increase of the capacity of production of sugar of the sector by 1 million tons. In this 2009/10 harvest, the production is estimated at 35 million tons.
Even without the greatness of the billions that pushed the sector forward during the ethanol boom, these investments have started encouraging the base and equipment industries. Dedini, from Piracicaba (SP), has been inquired about installing sugar plants in recently built distilleries, mainly in the Midwest of the country, affirmed Sérgio Barreira, company officer. In the industrial zone of Sertãozinho (SP), the local companies, like Brumazi, which also execute projects to increase the productive capacity in installed units, have also been consulted, according to Paulo Lança, marketing director of the group. João Rossigalli, Commercial Officer of Sermasa, also from Sertãozinho, affirmed that investments in the increase of the production of an existing unit are much faster. According to him, groups that have delayed their projects because of the crisis have started asking for an update on the projects.