US meat producers are saying in the Des Moines Register that aid to ethanol producers that are facing trouble because of movements in the price of corn over the previous year would be unfair and "would be a startling new development that discriminates in favour of one segment of American agriculture,"in a letter to the US secretary of agriculture.
This is a new front in the ethanol-from-corn industry's battle to stay profitable/in business.
This is a new front in the ethanol-from-corn industry's battle to stay profitable/in business.
Comments (1)
The ethanol people in trouble are there because of several reasons, mostly reflective of management.
Some of them speculated on corn futures and lost.
First generation corn to ethanol plants with costs of around $2.00 or so a gallon are way out of the range they need to be in to make a profit on the ethanol. They either have to add more and cheaper feedstocks, like corn stover, or add products; food products, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals that can increase their value recovered from each bushel of corn.
Preferably both.
Those that fail to do so will not profit long from a bailout. Other more nimble companies wil buy up their infrastructure and put it to work.
larrt
Posted by larryhagedon | October 25, 2008 6:26 PM
Posted on October 25, 2008 18:26