Rising US ethanol demand may boost fert sales - TFI

02 May 2006 21:31  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Demand for fertiliser in the US could rise by nearly a half million ton/year due to rising demand for corn from the ethanol industry, The Fertiliser Institute (TFI) said on Tuesday.

Basing estimates on US government projections, TFI said there could be a 5m acre/year increase in corn plantings and a 5m acre/year decline in soybean acreage in the next nine years as US ethanol demand rises, producing higher returns for corn. TFI estimated that this could boost demand for nitrogen by 2.5% by 2015; 1.6% for phosphates and 1.3% for potash from the 22.15m ton of fertiliser that was consumed in the US in the fiscal year ended 30 June, 2005.

Last year, 13% of the corn crop was used for ethanol production, accounting for 1.25m ton of fertiliser, TFI said. Based on US Department of Agriculture projections, the percentage of the US corn crop used for fuel alcohol production - including ethanol - could reach 23% in the 2015 fiscal year.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 mandates that renewable fuel use in gasoline reach 7.5bn gallons by 2012, nearly double the 2005 level, which will boost demand for ethanol and biodiesel.

By: Mark Quiner
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