P Sica1, SAQ Castro2 and AS Baptista1
1College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil; pietro.sica@usp.br
2Dean Lee Research Station, Louisiana State University, United States of America
In the 2024/2025 sugarcane season in Brazil faced extreme weather events, including droughts and heatwaves, which significantly impacted sugarcane yield and quality. While yield reductions due to climate variability are well-documented, their effects on sugar quality and storage remain underexplored. This study examines how reduced rainfall, high temperatures, and unplanned burns contributed to sugar deterioration during storage and transportation. Key storage issues included intensified caking, increased sugar dust, and accelerated color formation, leading to economic and logistical challenges. Indirectly, weather extremes reduced juice purity and altered sugar composition, increasing hygroscopicity and promoting crystal adhesion. Smaller, more heterogeneous crystals and non-sucrose compounds further exacerbated these losses. Directly, high temperatures and humidity fluctuations accelerated Maillard reactions and enzymatic oxidation, worsening color formation. Heat and moisture transfer promoted caking, affecting sugar flowability in railway terminals and ports. Understanding how climatic variations influence each stage—from sugarcane cultivation to final sugar storage and transportation—is essential for developing effective strategies to mitigate quality deterioration. Therefore, the challenges presented in this paper highlight the need for a multidisciplinary research approach that integrates agronomy, sugarcane quality assessment, industrial processing, and logistics.