dc.description.abstract | This study aims to assess the prospects of production of sugar-alcohol sector in Brazil, which involves the production of cane, sugar and alcohol, emphasizing the latter two. Brazil is currently the world's largest producer of sugar and the second largest world producer of alcohol, behind only the United States, which has made major investments to increase its production capacity of ethanol from corn in recent years. The country, which has in the production of sugar cane one of its oldest economic activities, has a prominent role from the availability of fertile land, technology of production of sugar and alcohol, lower costs for both sub–products when compared to competing products made from other raw materials and availability of a large and growing domestic market, especially for alcohol fuel. The outlook for the external market is also positive, with more and more countries adopting strict environmental control standards and emission of gases. However, this market is still highly protected, especially in | en |