Over the last five years, sugarcane production cost in Brazil has increased by 38.5% according to Geraldine Kutas of UNICA. The major contributory costs impacting the increase include land leasing (+57.12%), manpower (+47.12%) and mechanization (28.17%). Over the last 5-6 years, trend has been for new companies entering the sugar/ethanol sector to lease land. Older sugar mills are fully vertically integrated with their own cane plantations. Currently, some 60% of cane is produced by sugar millers who lease farmland and the remaining 40% of the cane comes from some 70,000 canegrowers. As for regulatory stricture on land leasing, a 1971… Login to continue

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