BRAZIL ETHANOL PRICES SOAR, FUEL SHORTAGE LOOMS
SAO PAULO, April 19 (Reuters) - Brazilian ethanol prices are soaring in lockstep with surging consumer demand, putting upward pressure on inflation and sparking fears of a shortage of the biofuel in some parts of the country.
Brazil, home to the world's most vibrant biofuels market, produces two types of ethanol from sugar cane -- hydrous and anhydrous. Hydrous ethanol is used for automobiles that can run on ethanol, whereas anhydrous ethanol is blended with all gasoline in Brazil as a way of keeping a lid on fuel prices and reducing consumption of fossil fuels.
BRAZIL CS 11/12 SEEN DOWN TO 541 MLN T--CANAPLAN
SAO PAULO, April 19 (Reuters) - Brazil's center-south will harvest around 541 million tonnes of cane in 2011/12 (April-March), down from the previous season due to poor investments in cane fields, Canaplan analysts said Tuesday.
If confirmed, this will be the first decline in output after 11 years of steady growth in the region that last season harvested a record 556.7 million tonnes of cane, according to industry association Unica.
BRASIL ECODIESEL IN TALKS TO ACQUIRE VANGUARDA
SAO PAULO, April 19 (Reuters) - Brazilian biodiesel producer Brasil Ecodiesel is in talks to acquire local farming group Vanguarda Participacoes in a deal worth 1.2 billion reais ($758 million), the companies said on Tuesday.
Under the terms of the deal, Ecodiesel would acquire all of Vanguarda's outstanding stock at 0.89 reais per share. Brasil Ecodiesel's controlling shareholders expect to decide in the next 20 days whether to go ahead with the acquisition.
AUSTRALIA IMPOSES DUMPING DUTY ON U.S. BIODIESEL
SYDNEY, April 18 (Reuters) - Australia slapped an anti-dumping duty on cheap imports of U.S. biodiesel, the nations customs agency said on Monday, after an official investigation found that shipments of heavily subsidised biodiesel had been sold into Australia.
The Australian Customs and Boarder Protection Services concluded that the subsidised and dumped exports from the US were hurting the local industry and clogging the market with similar goods.
SUGARCANE GROWN FOR FUEL COOLS BRAZIL'S CLIMATE
WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - Sugarcane grown to power Brazil's cars and trucks as an alternative to climate-warming fossil fuels has a beneficial side effect: it also cools the local air temperature, scientists reported on Sunday.
Researchers warned that this does not mean replacing Amazon forest or other natural vegetation with sugarcane fields. The benefit comes when sugarcane is introduced into existing agriculture, replacing pasture land or crops like soybeans.
CRUSHING OF BRAZIL CANE CROP SPREADS, YIELDS UP
SAO PAULO, April 14 (Reuters) - Ninety mills have begun crushing Brazil's 2011/12 cane crop (April-March), industry association Unica said Thursday, adding that about 200 more are expected to begin operating over the next few weeks.
A year ago, the number of mills working was much higher as there were 60 million tonnes of cane left uncut from the previous cycle that were ready to be harvested.
PETROBRAS TO UP ETHANOL INVESTMENT ON GOV'T PUSH
SAO PAULO, April 13 (Reuters) - State-run oil company Petrobras will invest more in ethanol production in Brazil to meet growing domestic demand for the fuel, the head of its biofuels unit said on Wednesday.
The announcement follows authorities' request for the company to enter more aggressively in the sector as part of a broader set of government measures to boost ethanol production and reduce price volatility for consumers.
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