UPDATE 2-Brazil's Cosan sees 2010/11 cane crush at 58 mln T

* Cosan expects to crush 58 mln tonnes of cane in 2010/11

* Market sees center-south cane crush at 580 mln tonnes

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By Inae Riveras

SAO PAULO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Cosan (CSAN3.SA)(CZZ.N), Brazil's largest sugar and ethanol producing group, said Tuesday it expects to crush 58 million tonnes of cane in 2010/11 (April-March), up from 54 million tonnes in 2009/10.

"We expect to grow at the same rate as cane crushing in the center-south will," said Pedro Mizutani, president of Cosan's sugar and ethanol division.

He said the market has been talking about an increase in the center-south's cane crushing to around 580 million tonnes next season, from 530 million tonnes in the current season.

Cosan has directed around 58 percent of its cane crushed in 2009/10 to sugar production, and Mizutani said he expects the same mix next season.

"Of course our (ethanol and sugar) production will depend on prices (in 2010) but as we expect sugar prices to be higher (than ethanol prices), the production mix will be similar," Mizutani told Reuters on the sidelines of analysts Datagro's biennial sugar and ethanol conference in Sao Paulo.

He said the crush of a record 580 million tonnes of cane would be close to the sector's installed capacity.

Because of wet weather in the center-south, which accounts for about 90 percent of Brazil's cane output, between 40 million and 50 million tonnes of cane will be left untouched on the fields to be crushed next season.

Rains prevent harvest machines from entering fields and, during harvesting, they reduce the amount of sucrose per tonne of cane, or its industrial yield.

Mizutani said hydrate ethanol prices in Brazil, which rose recently to around 930 reais per cubic meter (1,000 liters) before taxes at the mill gate, are close to their upper limits as demand will start to fall in response to higher prices. (Reporting by Inae Riveras; editing by John Picinich)