IMPORTANT NEWS

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Petrobras anunció inversiones por u$s 44.000 millones en pétroleo y biocombustibles para 2010.
Petrobras anunció inversiones por u$s44.000 millones para 2010. La soja se negocia a 345 dólares y el petróleo avanza sobre los u$s81. La petrolera estatal brasileña Petrobras invertirá 79.500 millones de reales (44.000 millones de dólares) en el 2010, levemente por debajo de las cifras anunciadas por una directora de la empresa en la jornada anterior, dijo la compañía el martes. Petrobras señaló en un comunicado que invertirá 35.700 millones de reales (19.900 millones de dólares) en exploración y producción y 30.800 millones de reales (17.200 millones de dólares) en refinación y petroquímicos. El remanente será destinado a áreas como distribución y biocombustibles, agregó la empresa. No obstante, Petrobras recordó que el plan de inversión aún debe ser aprobado por el Congreso de Brasil. Dilma Rousseff, miembro del directorio de la estatal y precandidata del oficialista Partido de los Trabajadores (PT) para las elecciones presidenciales de este año, dijo en un discurso el lunes que la compañía invertirá “algo alrededor de los 85.000 millones de reales” este año. Petrobras planea invertir 174.000 illones de dólares hasta el 2013 mientras extrae miles de millones de barriles de crudo desde las profundidades bajo el lecho marino, pero eso probablemente cambie si el Congreso aprueba un plan de capitalización que entrega nuevo financiamiento a la estatal. La firma dijo que aún discute su plan de negocios para el período 2010-2014, que dependerá del plan de capitalización. Petrobras invirtió 50.700 millones de reales en los primeros nueve meses del 2009. La inversión total por el 2009 aún no está disponible, porque la empresa retrasó el mes pasado la presentación de sus resultados del cuarto trimestre del 2009 en que incluirá esa información. La ley brasileña obliga a presentar esos resultados en un plazo de 90 días desde el cierre del trimestre. El año pasado, el gobierno del presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva lanzó un plan para canjear derechos de explotación de 5.000 millones de barriles de crudo en la enorme área subsal por acciones de Petrobras.
Infobae

La producción de biodiésel de Argentina y Brasil crecería en 2010.
La producción de biodiésel de Argentina y de Brasil crecería este año a 2,25 y 3,67 millones de toneladas, respectivamente, desde los 1,5 y 2,74 millones del 2009, según un informe del Centro de Investigación Conjunta de la Comisión Europea .
Argentina es uno de los principales exportadores mundiales del biodiésel, mientras que, si bien Brasil elabora un volumen del producto más elevado que su país vecino, lo utiliza completamente en su mercado interno.
En años siguientes, la elaboración de biodiésel argentino seguiría creciendo, y llegaría a 3,21 millones de toneladas en el 2015 y a 3,56 millones de toneladas en el 2020.
En cambio, la producción brasileña de biodiésel caería cerca de un 50 por ciento en el 2015, a 1,91 millones de toneladas, aunque después se recuperaría hasta alcanzar aproximadamente 3,01 millones de toneladas en el 2020.
De acuerdo al informe de la Unión Europea (UE), este año Argentina tendría un volumen de 1,78 millones de toneladas del biocombustible disponible para la exportación, desde los 1,32 millones del 2009.
A su vez, esta cifra escalaría en los próximos dos lustros a 2,69 y 2,98 millones de toneladas, respectivamente.

India Sugar Mills `Pinched´ by Curbs, Sell Below Cost.
Sugar makers in India, the world´s biggest user, are selling below cost of production as government measures to increase supplies have pushed domestic prices to a four-month low, a millers´ group said.
The government extended duty-free purchases of white sugar until Dec. 31, ordered bulk consumers to hold inventories for no more than 10 days from 15 days earlier, and asked mills to sell on a weekly basis from fortnightly sales earlier, to cool record domestic prices that have fueled food-price inflation.
"These are the highest curbs I´ve seen been put on the free-sale of sugar in the last 25 years," said Vivek Saraogi, president of the Indian Sugar Mills Association and managing director of Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd., the country´s second- biggest producer, in an interview. "The industry feels very pinched by this. Everything is out of the window for us."
The slump in domestic refined sugar rates may reduce the ability of the mills to pay farmers record cane prices for a second straight crop year starting Oct. 1, worsening a deficit estimated by Kingsman SA at 7 million metric tons. India became a net importer of the commodity last season for the first time since 2006, helping global prices more than double in 2009.
"Farmers will have a rethink on planting cane" if mills are unable to pay growers, Prakash Naiknavare, managing director of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation Ltd., said in a phone interview.
Global raw-sugar prices have declined 27 percent from the three-decade high reached Feb. 1. Prices in Mumbai, the nation´s biggest wholesale market for sugar, are down 24.4 percent from a record 4,050 rupees per 100 kilograms on Jan. 8.
Below Cost
Mills in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the country´s second-biggest producer, are selling at 33 rupees (73 cents) a kilogram, less than the cost of 37-38 rupees, according to M.N. Rao, deputy director general of the association. In Maharashtra, the nation´s largest producer, the cost is 30 rupees, compared with the market price of 28-29 rupees, he said.
"It will adversely affect the earnings of companies" if prices slide further, said Naiknavare.
Shares of Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd., the nation´s biggest mill, lost 1.5 percent to 162.7 rupees at close in Mumbai. The stock slumped 24.5 percent last month, the steepest drop since October 2008. Balrampur Chini fell 0.8 percent to 111.15 rupees. It lost 12.3 percent in February, the largest monthly drop in a year.
"They are not able to make money and are losing out in the short term," said Sageraj Bariya, an analyst at Angel Broking Ltd. in Mumbai. "That led to the fall in shares today. We are negative on the sugar sector overall."
Yields Improve
Gains in output have also contributed to lowering prices. Production gained 5.5 percent in the five months ended Feb. 28 to 13.25 million tons as late rain improved sugar cane yields in Maharashtra, the country´s top producer, the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd., said March 2.
Production in the year to Sept. 30 may exceed 16 million tons, in line with government estimates, the group said. Next year, output may rebound to as much as 23 million to 24 million tons, according to the Indian Sugar Mills Association.
Uttar Pradesh mills paid record price for cane at 250-260 rupees per 100 kilograms (220 pounds) in year that started Oct. 1, Rao said.
Bloomberg news - USA

Thai Sugar Harvest to Advance to Record, Millers Say .
Thailand may harvest a record sugar crop next year after farmers boosted planting, enabling them to benefit from global prices set to advance to an all-time high, according to the Thai Sugar Millers Corp.
Output from the world´s second-largest exporter may total 7.8 million metric tons in the year from November, said Vibul Panitvong, executive chairman of the company that groups Thailand´s 46 millers. Raw-sugar prices may reach 40 cents next year on low global inventories and strong demand, Vibul said.
A surge in prices would benefit exporters including Brazil, the largest shipper, while boosting costs for buyers such as India, the world´s second most-populous nation. The South Asian country will probably import about 4 million tons next year after purchasing as much as 7 million tons this year, Vibul said.
Thailand´s "cane production is likely to reach a record" next year, beating the 74 million tons recorded in the 2002-2003 crop year, Vibul said in an interview. Each ton may yield 105 kilograms of sugar, he said from Baan Rai district on March 5.
Raw sugar had its biggest gain since 1974 last year as bad weather pared harvests in Brazil and India, the largest growers, producing a global deficit. The price touched 30.4 cents a pound on Feb. 1, the highest since January 1981. Speculation Brazil´s output may rebound cut the price to 22.19 cents on March 5.
Prices to Rebound
"Prices may rise to 27 cents a pound around July as India will probably seek sugar imports after local supplies subside," said Vibul. Strong import demand, low global stockpiles and an inflow of speculative investment may drive the price to a record next year, Vibul said from Uthai Thani province in the nation´s central region, the second-largest cane-growing area.
Khon Kaen Sugar Industry Pcl, Thailand´s only publicly traded mill, gained 0.7 percent to close at 13.9 baht in Bangkok today. The stock has more than doubled in the past 12 months.
World sugar production is forecast to trail demand by 9.4 million tons in 2009-2010 compared with a previous estimate of 7.3 million tons, the London-based International Sugar Organization said in an e-mailed report on Feb. 18.
The output forecast from the Thai Sugar Millers Corp. is similar to a prediction from Thai Roong Ruang Sugar Group, the nation´s second-largest miller. Cane output next year may total 73 million tons, yielding 7.5 million tons of raw sugar, Thai Roong´s Executive Director Nutthapol Asadathorn said on March 5.
Cane output this year may be about 68 million tons, below a 72 million ton target, as warmer-than-expected weather reduces production and yield, said Vibul. Sugar production this year may total 6.8 million tons, he said.
El Nino Warning
To be sure, Vibul said output and yield forecasts for next year may not be met if El Nino persists. The weather pattern, caused by a warming of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, can parch parts of Asia, hurting agricultural production. "Production may fall 20 percent below the target," Vibul said.
Thailand´s Office of Agricultural Economics said on Jan. 13 that dry weather caused by an El Nino weather pattern will probably cut production of rice, rubber and sugar. The nation is the world´s largest rice exporter.
The Office of the Cane and Sugar Board, the industry´s regulator, forecast on Feb. 19 that output in the season that started Nov. 1 may decline to 6.7 million to 6.9 million tons from 7.2 million tons in the previous crop. Warmer-than-expected weather may cut the cane harvest to 69 million tons, it said.
Exports from Thailand may miss a target this year as the government plans to increase an allocation for domestic demand, Prasert Tapaneeyangkul, secretary-general of the Office of the Cane and Sugar Board, said by phone today.
The local quota will be raised 100,000 tons to 2.2 million tons, and exports may fall to 4.5 million tons, Prasert said. That´s lower than the latest target of 4.6 million to 4.8 million tons. The board will discuss the plan on March 11.
Thai sugar accounts for about 14.9 percent of global exports, according to Bloomberg data. Canes, which take a year to mature, are usually planted in the country in October and May.
Bloomberg news - USA