Brazil ethanol exports to US plunge 88% on closed arb

08 December 2009 18:24  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--A closed arbitrage window limited Brazilian ethanol exports to the US in April-October to 152m litres, an 88% reduction from the same period a year earlier, sugarcane industry association Unica said on Tuesday.

Ethanol exports to the US in April-October accounted for 6% of total shipments, down from 36% a year earlier, Unica said.

The drop represented a sharp reversal from previous years, as the US consistently ranked as the top destination for Brazilian ethanol exports.

Ethanol shipments to the Caribbean and Europe, the other two main markets, also fell in April-October but not by the same magnitude as to the US, Unica said.

Exports to Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) countries fell by 22% to 690m litres while shipments to the EU dropped by 20% to 665m litres.

Brazil in April-October shipped 2.5bn litres of ethanol, a 26% drop from the same months of 2008, according to the association.

Unica releases data starting in April because that is when the sugarcane harvest starts in the centre-south region of Brazil. The harvest usually runs from April to December.

The centre-south accounts for 90% of Brazil’s ethanol production.

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By: William Lemos
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