U.S. Sugarcane Harvest Estimate Drops

WASHINGTON - Dec 9/05 - SNS -- Production of sugarcane for sugar and seed in the United States this year is now pegged at 27.0 million tons, 5% below the November forecast and 7% below 2004, according to the USDA's final crop production estimates of 2005.

If realized, this would be the lowest production since 1980. Sugarcane growers intend to harvest 922,900 acres for sugar and seed during the 2005 crop year, down 4% from November and 2% less than last year. Yield is forecast at 29.2 tons per acre, 0.5 ton below the previous forecast, 1.7 tons below the 2004 yield, and the lowest since 1933.

The production forecast for Florida continued to decline as the full impact of Hurricane Wilma was assessed. Producers are now expected to harvest 401,000 acres, 8% less than the November forecast and the fewest acres since 1985. The reduced harvested acreage, along with an expected yield decline of 0.7 ton from the previous forecast, resulted in a 10% decrease from last month's production forecast.

Meanwhile, acreage, yield, and production forecasts are unchanged for Louisiana. As of November 27, 56% of the acreage in Louisiana had been harvested, 9 percentage points behind normal.

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