Brazilian sugarcane harvest off to slow start

In Brazil, UNICA reports that sugarcane processing mills in the South-Central region of the country crushed 32.77 million tons in the first half of May, down 6.69% compared to the 35.13 million tons crushed during the same period last year. The total amount of cane processed since the start of the 2011/2012 harvest reached 56.66 million tons on May 15, a total 39.51% below the 93.67 million tons registered by the same date in the previous harvest. UNICA said that more than 60 mills had yet to begin harvesting on May 15, a consequence of the low availability of cane.