Sugarcane Ethanol Economics
by Mike Bryan (Ethanol Producer Magazine) …Between 2006 and 2011, the price of sugar, while having numerous peaks and valleys, has risen from about 18 cents per pound to as high as 29 cents per pound. Given the fact that global demand for sugar is on the increase and current weather conditions are not favorable in Brazil, Russia and some other parts of the world, it does not appear that the price of sugar will be coming down any time soon.
…At a current price of nearly 23 cents per pound for raw sugar, it is simply not economically viable for Brazil or any other country to produce ethanol.
…So why would the United States, where it has been deemed strategically important to reduce our dependence of imported oil, move from that dependence to dependence on Brazilian ethanol, rather than continue to develop our own production? Energy security is not just relegated to oil, it’s about energy in all forms. Encouraging greater sugarcane-to-ethanol production by opening the door to expanded imports has environmental impacts, not the least of which could pose significant land use issues in developing countries. READ MORE
