Raging fires have burned 10% of Brazilian sugar cane fields belonging to French cooperative Tereos, a senior executive said on Monday, with losses so far estimated at more than US$18 million .

Brazil is the world's largest producer and exporter of the sweetener, while Tereos is the South American country's second-biggest sugar supplier.

Pierre Santoul, the Brazil country manager for Tereos, noted that some 30,000 hectares (74,100 acres) of its sugar fields had been burned, causing a 100 million real hit.

Speaking at an event in Sao Paulo, Santoul stressed potential impacts extending into next season.

"Our concern now is not the 2024/25 harvest, it's really next year's (2025/26)," he said, adding that prolonged dry weather could make matters worse.

The fires have torched fields responsible for around 1.7 million metric tons of Tereos sugarcane, according to Santoul.

The cooperative operates seven plants in the country, all of them in Sao Paulo state, Brazil's top producer.

Industry group UNICA has estimated that at least 230,000 hectares planted with sugarcane were affected by fires in August in Sao Paulo state, as fires continued to roll through many regions of Brazil this month amid dry conditions in addition to suspicion of arson.

The company, however, maintained its projection, disclosed before the fires began, to crush approximately 21 million tons of sugarcane in Brazil in 2024/25, as most of the affected cane could still be processed.

Tereos executives said the fires could also impact the current crop's sugar quality, and as a consequence, less cane may be allocated to making sugar than previously expected.

Santoul said the next sugar crop will depend on how sprouting develops after harvesting this season.

Cane plants usually live for five or six years. They sprout after they are cut, and then grow again for another harvest the following year.

  - Reuters