U.S. Sugarcane Harvest Rises 3%

WASHINGTON - Dec 11/07 - SNS -- Production of sugarcane for sugar and seed in 2007 is forecast at 30.4 million tons, of which 28.7 million tons is expected to be for sugar and 1.70 million tons for seed, according to the USDA's latest crop production estimates.

Total production for sugar and seed is up fractionally from the November forecast and 3% above the revised 2006 production. Sugarcane growers intend to harvest 883,500 acres for sugar and seed during the 2007 crop year, unchanged from November but 2% less than last year.

If realized, the USDA notes this will be the lowest area harvested for sugar and seed since 1990. Yield is forecast at 34.4 tons per acre, the same as last month but up 1.5 tons from last year.

Expected harvested area is down in all States except Texas but yields are up in all States compared with last year. By December 2, sugarcane growers in Louisiana had harvested 71% of their acreage compared with 66% for the five-year average. In Florida, the weather remained mostly dry allowing the harvest of the sugarcane crop to progress normally during November.

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