UPDATE 1-BP Bunge Bioenergia sees 2023/24 cane crop up 16% from previous season -chairman
(Updates with additional detail on 2023/24 crop, adds 2025/26 estimate)
By Roberto Samora
SAO PAULO, Aug 23 (Reuters) - BP Bunge Bioenergia, a joint venture controlled by BP and Bunge in Brazil, expects to process between 28 million and 29 million metric tons of cane in the 2023/24 crop, an up to 16% increase from the previous season, the firm's chairman said on Wednesday.
The boost, thanks to productivity gains and a favorable climate, would be up from the 25 million tons processed in the 2022/23 crop, chairman Mario Lindenhayn said in an interview.
The group - the second-largest sugarcane processor in Brazil - sees processing capacity reaching 32.4 million tons by the 2025/26 harvest.
BP Bunge plans to invest some 2.5 billion reais ($513.03 million) in this cycle's crop, Lindenhayn said, adding the company is evaluating opportunities for expansion and may move into producing biogas.
($1 = 4.8730 reais) (Reporting by Roberto Samora; Writing by Kylie Madry; editing by David Evans)
