date:Nov 20, 2012
This higher rate of expansion relative to the past couple of seasons suggests that, under normal weather conditions, agricultural yields should improve again, given the level of ageing, and lower yielding, cane taken out of production.
The expansion has been boosted by the paying down by mills of huge borrowing, with the average ratio of net debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) ? a much watched measure of leverage levels ? falling to 2.9, from 7.1 in