Economic impact of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) loss in mechanical harvesting Impacto econômico da perda de cana-de-açúcar (Saccharum spp.) na colheita mecanizada

In Brazil, sugarcane intended for ethanol and sugar mill shad 3.6% increase in the total area directed toward agricultural production. Among the mechanized harvest machines, harvester is most costly of purchase, especially with two lines, whose price is 50% higher than the one-line type. Given the diffi- culty of evaluating the economic impact caused by sugarcane loss in the process of mechanized har- vest in the field, the present study has assessed it by using the computer model "ColheCana" that was developed and validated in an Excel ® spreadsheet, and in Visual Basic ® programming language. Ini- tially, the operational speed was determined to access the production cost with and without loss of raw material. The harvester considered has two lines and 251 kW output (342 cv). Increasing the opera- tion speed reduces the production cost, but augments sugarcane loss.