SAO PAULO, April 23 (Reuters) - Brazilian international trade platform Timbro expects to increase its sugar exports by more than 40% in 2024 to 2 million metric tons, while also expanding operations to enter the ethanol market, a top executive told Reuters.
Timbro exported 1.4 million tons of sugar in 2023, up 75% from the previous year and a major jump from the 50,000 tons shipped in 2018. It intends to sell 50 million liters of ethanol this year as it continues to grow its footprint.
"Ethanol is a way for us to be more flexible with the mills and mitigate business risk - if the plants don't deliver sugar, they can deliver ethanol," Pietro Costantino, Timbro's commercial director, said in an interview on Monday.
Sugar and ethanol are part of Timbro's broad trade portfolio, which ranges from imports of executive aircraft, steel and dairy products to exports of pig iron, manganese and iron ores.
The firm's total revenue reached 12.5 billion reais ($2.44 billion) in 2023, with exports of the sweetener accounting for 4 billion. Timbro's goal is for revenues coming from shipments of sugar and ethanol to hit 6 billion reais this year.
The company hopes to become a relevant ethanol player, eyeing growing consumption of the biofuel in India and supply for the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry, Costantino said.
Timbro was founded 13 years ago by businessmen Jorge Guinle and Bruno Russo. ($1 = 5.1217 reais) (Reporting by Roberto Samora Editing by Marguerita Choy)
