Nov 04, 2010
United States Surpasses Brazil in Ethanol Exports
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
By the end of the first semester of 2010, the United States had taken over the role from Brazil as the world's leading exporter of ethanol. A weak dollar as well as heavy investments in the ethanol industry and import tariffs helped propel the United States into the lead.
During the first five months of 2010, the U.S. has already exported more ethanol than during all of 2009. Signals came early in 2010 that ethanol exports from the United States would be much better than the prior two years. During the month of February 2010, the United States exported 151 million liters of ethanol compared to 120 million liters exported from Brazil. The United States continued to export over 200 million liters per month in subsequent months. By September, the United States had already exported more than 700 million liters.
In 2006, the ethanol capacity in the United States was 4.7 billion gallons. In 2009, the ethanol capacity in the United States increased to 13.8 billion gallons or the equivalent of 52 billion liters. Currently, 32% of ethanol exports from the United States go to Europe, 18% goes to Canada, and 15% goes to Japan. Brazil is the sixth largest importer of American ethanol consuming 5% of American exports.
The Union of Sugarcane Industries in Brazil (Unica) has said they are considering going to the World Trade Organization concerning import tariffs placed by the United States and Europe on ethanol exported from Brazil. They are concerned that these tariffs could negatively impact Brazil's competitive position.