Brazil ethanol sales up amid strong anhydrous demand

Ethanol sales in Brazil's central-south region hit 1.02Bl in the first half of September, up from 972Ml during the same period last year. Exports accounted for 117Ml while the domestic market consumed 901Ml, according to sugarcane industry association Unica. Local sales of anhydrous ethanol, used in Brazil's gasoline admixture, totaled 355Ml, up from 278Ml in the year-ago period. The figure for hydrous ethanol, used in flex-fuel and alcohol-only vehicles, was 546Ml, up 13.4% year-on-year. Since the beginning of the harvest period on April 1, ethanol sales have hit 12.0Bl, a rise of 24% on the corresponding period in 2012. In the first half of September ethanol accounted for 50.9% of processed sugarcane, with the remainder allocated to sugar production. Ethanol output has hit 17.2Bl since April 1, of which 9.99Bl have been hydrous and 7.36Bl anhydrous.