EVALUATION OF LOSSES IN THE SUGARCANE HARVESTING PROCESS IN THE IVINHEMA VALLEY REGION

Abstract

Brazil holds about 18% of all its arable territory to produce sugarcane, its raw material is of great economic importance in the country, with production of by-products with high added value, such as sugar, alcohol and ethanol. Some states of greater territorial extension are responsible for large-scale production, mainly in the Midwest, Southeast and North regions of the country, with the greatest highlight with 53% of all sugarcane cultivation being São Paulo, followed by Minas Gerais, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. In view of this, with large-scale production, other challenges begin to arise, such as the need for crops within technological aspects that prevent the occurrence of losses in the production system, from the establishment of sugarcane fields and especially their harvesting and transportation, to the arrival of raw material within the industrial complex for transformation into by-products. The objective of this study was to analyze and quantify the percentage of losses between the harvesting and receiving process in the sugarcane raw material industry harvested fresh in the region of Vale do Ivinhema – Mato Grosso do Sul. As a methodology, the case study was used, which comprised three months of analysis. With the data analyzed, it was possible to verify that the highest percentage of losses occurs for the portion of producers who carry out their own crops, sending their raw material to the industry, generating around 44.02% in losses between the total harvested and received. In addition, harvests farther from the industrial complex showed greater losses of around 9.85% in mineral and vegetable impurities, showing that transportation may have influenced the time of receipt.