Sugar output in Brazil's Centre/South in the second half of December was up 48% from the same period in 2008 as more mills delayed annual shutdowns, the Sugar Cane Industry Association of Sao Paulo (Unica) said. Despite rains in the growing areas, which disrupted harvesting and reduced the cane sucrose content, sugar output reached 352,300 tonnes, compared with 238,100 in the last two weeks of 2008. Mills managed to crush 10.310 mln tonnes of cane in the last fortnight of 2009, up 54.9% from 6.658 mln a year earlier. More than 90 mills had not yet completed their operations in early January, compared with 56 plants in 2009 and only 14 in 2008, Unica said, adding that several units planned to keep running until March.
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