Dry weather is delaying development of the sugarcane crop in Sao Paulo state, Brazil's biggest producer, and could affect yields, the Agronomy Institute of Campinas (IAC) said on Thursday. "The moisture shortage is causing concern," said Marcos Guimaraes de Andrade Landell, director of the institute's cane office in Ribeirao Preto, center of Sao Paulo's cane industry. Another 20 days without rain will make the situation critical, he said, adding that it hadn't rained for 12 days. "In some soils, this dryness reduces cane growth, but we don't have estimates about possible yield loss," he said.

Excessive rain and lack of sunshine in January followed by the current dry spell during the rainy summer season harmed the crop.

Landell said that cane fields due to be harvested in April were most vulnerable. They account for about 30 percent of Sao Paulo's cane crop of around 200 million tonnes.

Copyright Reuters, 2005