Cargill, Usina Sao Joao JV poised to triple sugar cane crushing capacity by 2020 - report

Sep 21, 2011 - SJC Bioenergia, the sugar, ethanol and electricity joint venture (JV) of US agricultural commodities trader Cargill and Brazilian sugar and ethanol producer Usina Sao Joao (USJ), plans tripling its sugar cane crushing capacity by 2020 to 15 million tonnes per year.

The target was revealed by Herminio Ometto, president of USJ, as reported yesterday by Brazilian business daily Valor Economico.

The newly established JV currently counts with USJ's assets in the central-western Goias state, comprising the Sao Francisco sugar and ethanol mill, in operation since 2007, and the Cachoeira Dourada unit, which is currently under construction.

The planned crushing capacity for 2020 will be achieved with these two units, which by that time are seen to process 7.5 million tonnes of sugar cane per year each, Ometto told Valor.

For comparison, during the 2011/2012 crop year, the JV will process 5 million tonnes of sugar cane, which will translate into 170 million litres (44.9 million gallons) of ethanol, 420,000 tonnes of sugar and electricity generation of 350,000 MW per year.

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