UNICA Update: 2H January 2026

Opinion Focus

CS Brazil is in off-season and waiting for the beginning of the 2026/27 crop. Mills might want to anticipate their crushing to march, but this will depend on how rains will cooperate.

2nd Half of January Figures

UNICA released the harvest data for the second half of January of the 2025/26 harvest.

With only 4 sugarcane mills still in operation vs 250 existent, the Center-South of Brazil is now in the off-season. The mills should resume activities only at the start of April, marking the beginning of the 2026/27 harvest.

We continue expect for the 2025/26 harvest to end with 610 million tonnes of cane crush and a total of 40.4 million tonnes of sugar production.

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With the 2025/26 season coming to an end, market participants are increasingly focused on the start of the 2026/27 crop. As we have been hearing, some mills are expected to bring forward the beginning of crushing to the first or second half of March. However, March is still typically marked by summer rains in Brazil’s Center-South region, which could complicate field operations and logistics.

It is important to note that UNICA officially considers the new season to begin only from the first half of April onward. In other words, even if some mills start crushing in March, those volumes will still be accounted for as part of the 2025/26 season.

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A woman with long brown hair, wearing a black blouse, stands in front of a wooden wall and a blue sign with the white letters CZ. She is smiling slightly and has her hands clasped in front.

Leticia Pizzo

Letícia joined CZ's analysis team in 2022, on a 1.5-year internship while finishing her bachelor’s degree in business administration. Since joining our São Paulo team, she has developed soybean and corn market intelligence focused on Brazilian market. She is now responsible for all the grains data, as well as providing market insights for our app.