US Ethanol Exports Reach Near-Record Levels In 2014
Of the 14.3 billion gallons of ethanol produced in the United States in 2014, a near-record 836 gallons were exported.
Per a report by the Renewable Fuel Association, those exported gallons went to 51 countries around the world, with the top five importers being Canada, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Philippines and India. The amount of U.S.-made ethanol exported in 2014 comes second to the amount in 2011, when 1.2 billion gallons were sent abroad.
While most export markets continue to flourish, producers saw a continued reduction of exports to the European Union in 2013 and 2014, the result of tariffs against U.S. ethanol.
On the other side, ethanol imports into the U.S. market fell 79 percent in 2014 from 400 million gallons to just 84 million. The figure is the second-lowest on record, behind the 18 million gallons imported in 2010. The majority of the imported ethanol was Brazil, which sent 60.8 million gallons to the U.S. last year, down 83 percent from 2013’s shipment of 348.2 million.
The industry group hopes to add more markets for U.S. ethanol in 2015, having gone on trade missions in Panama, China, Peru, Japan and South Korea in 2014 to help encourage importation, and vowing to “keep at it until all countries understand the value of U.S produced ethanol.”
Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.
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We can't start this again; I ran out of POPCORN watching the last ethanol thread. Give a guy a chance to re-stalk.
hee hee "re-stalk"
In Canada, we get corn-juice adulterated gasoline as well. As is well known, Canada is knee deep in snow all year round, and corn struggles to grow. So, we bought that 836 gallons from the US. But it's so precious, we put actual sugar in our soft drinks.
Even though ethanol production is a waste of money, especially using corn, it's good to see the US export and earn some external dollars. The downside is the US taxes imported Brazilian ethanol at 58%. Why? Because sugarcane is a far more economical crop to convert into ethanol than corn. This means the Brazilians are more competitive. So, why not keep on paying farmers subsidies to export? This appears to be illogical. Why not stop the handouts to the farmers to produce corn. Grow corn to sell to Latin American countries. This will save billions of taxpayer (consumer) dollars. Let Brazil make ethanol because they are good at it and the US grow corn because they are good at it.