U.S. Ethanol Exports Increase as More Countries Take Steps to Fight Air Pollution

Asia, Business News/Analysis, Feedstocks, Field/Orchard/Plantation Crops/Residues, Iowa, Japan, Marketing/Market Forces and Sales, Opinions, Policy

December 8, 2016

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(Iowa Corn) … As the world strives to meet goals set by global climate initiatives, U.S. ethanol provides an affordable solution. Government mandates, which dictate a certain amount of ethanol to be blended with gasoline, make a big impact on global ethanol demand. In many countries, blend mandates function as targets rather than as requirements. USDA estimates 84 percent of U.S. ethanol exports in 2014 went to countries with mandates in place, a trend that continues in 2016.

Regions such as Asia are not only increasing their overall fuel usage, but have the potential to increase their current ethanol blend rates. USGC marketing programs focus on helping international buyers understand the properties of ethanol as an octane enhancer as well as an energy source and to reduce GHG emissions and improve air quality.

A newly released USGC study found that a significant portion of U.S. produced corn ethanol will likely meet Japan’s 50 percent GHG reduction threshold over gasoline, supporting the case for that fuel’s competitiveness and its sustainability compared to other fuel sources. This is important as Japan now has a requirement that all biofuels must reduce greenhouse gas by 50 percent, and Japanese regulators will decide whether to include U.S. ethanol in Japan’s biofuel policy in the spring of 2017 for implementation in 2018.

In Mexico, another key market, authorities are considering adding ethanol to their country’s energy supply. In October, Mexican officials heard from U.S. researchers about air quality, lung health and other quality of life benefits of ethanol as well as Colombian and Paraguayan regulators who discussed their successful implementation of biofuels programs. The workshop was part of a larger effort to share information with Mexican regulators as they consider switching from ethanol produced locally from sorghum to ethanol imported from the United States.

“USGC is at work in multiple countries, with the focus on Asia as the fastest growing market for fuel consumption in the world,” said Humphreys ( The Grain Trade Committee Chair Wayne Humphreys). “Evolving these markets takes time, but we have already seen success in the two years since USGC began its effort to tap into global ethanol exports.” READ MORE

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