Mills in Brazil’s Centre-South region produced 1.91 mln tn of sugar during the first fortnight of May, down 9.9% from 2.12 mln tn in the year-ago period, the country’s sugarcane industry association. Mills in the region, which accounts for more than 90% of the country’s total sugar output, crushed 42.64 mln tn of sugarcane during May 1-15, up 10.6% on year. Production in the region during the first fortnight of May was lower, despite the rise in crushing, because mills diverted more cane towards ethanol, prices of which are more attractive than sugar. Of the total cane crushed so far, only around 35.2% was used for sugar production, while the remaining was used to make ethanol.