Bioenergy Brazil
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United States Department of Agriculture www.ers.usda.gov A Report from the Economic Research Service Abstract Brazil is a major supplier o ethanol to the world market, the result o its natural advan- tage in producing sugarcane, productivi ty increases, and policies stimulating the supply o eedstock and o sugar-based ethanol. Global demand or ethanol and other biobased uels is expected to grow in response to mandates or increased use o renewable uels around the world. Brazil will be well positioned to ll the growing world demand or ethanol. However, Brazil’s ability to supply the export market depends on its domestic ethanol use mandate, world sugar and oil prices, the currency exchange rate, and the inrastructure to move ethanol to ports. Brazil is challenged with sustaining production growth in the ethanol sector so as to meet increasing domestic demand and, at the same time, maintain its position as a major supplier o ethanol to world markets that are growing rapidly in response to their own ambitious targets or renewable energy use. Keywords: Brazil, ethanol supply chain, sugarcane, sugar, agricultural policies, subsidized credit allocations, challenges or the ethanol industry , uture perspectiv es, domestic and global ethanol demand Acknowledgments The author thanks all reviewers or comments, eedback, and suggestions, including Mary Anne Normile, Molly Garber, Rip Landes, William Coyle, Erik Dohlman, Kim Hjort, and Fred Gale o USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS); Alan Hrapsky , Michelle DaPra Wittenberger , and Sergio D.S. Barros o USDA, Foreign Agricul tural Service (FAS); David Stallings o USDA, World Agricultural Outlook Board, Oce o the Chie Economist (OCE); and Hosein Shapouri o USDA, Oce o Energy Policy and New Uses, OCE. Special thanks to Joel V elasco and Luciano Rodriguez rom the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association or a thorough review and helpul comments, which signicantly improved the study . Thanks also to Chris Dicken o ERS or geographic inormation system analysis and cartographic output, Heloisa Burnquist o the C enter or Advanced Studies on Applied Economics or expert comments and sharing o data, and Douglas Newman o U.S. International T rade Commission or sharing ethanol trade data and expert review comments. The author appreciates and acknowledges the editorial and design assistance o John W eber and Curtia Tay lor o ERS. Some inormation in this report was obtained through activities unded by the Emerging Markets Program o FAS. Constanza Valdes, [email protected] Brazil’s Ethanol Industry: Looking Forward BIO-02 June 2011 Contents Approved by USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board Introduction ........................ 2 Ethanol Feedstock, Industrial Processing, and Distribution ............... 4 The Contribution o Policies to the Development o Brazil’s Ethanol Sector ..... .......... 21 Challenges or the Brazilian Ethanol Industry.......................... 26 Future Perspectives or Brazil’s Ethanol Industry.......................... 30 Conclusions ...................... 36 Reerences........................ 38 Appendix .............. ............ 44