COLUMN-US ETHANOL RIGHT TO WORRY OVER DDG EXPORT PACE: MAGUIRE
CHICAGO, June 8 Reuters) - After climbing from less than 100,000 tonnes in January 2006 to more than 1 million tonnes in July 2010, U.S. exports of distiller's dried grains (DDGs) -- a byproduct of corn-based ethanol production -- were widely considered a major boon for the U.S. ethanol industry that alleviated pressure on the U.S. corn market by offering global animal feeders with a high-protein alternative to corn.
But DDG exports have fallen sharply since, with the latest month's shipments down on the same period a year ago. Part of the slowdown can be attributed to top export market China's anti-dumping probe into U.S. DDGs launched in December. But a surge in DDG prices to record highs is also hurting demand, and highlights the frailty of this burgeoning sector that less than a year ago was being heralded as a dependable source of long-term revenue for U.S. ethanol makers.
A GOLDEN AGE FOR BRAZIL ETHANOL? NOT QUITE
SAO PAULO, June 6 (Reuters) - By most measures, this should be a golden age for sugarcane ethanol in Brazil. Yet, despite high prices for the biofuel and a massive expansion in the domestic fleet of cars that use it, Brazil's ethanol industry is struggling with stagnant investment, insufficient supply growth and a government that can't seem to figure out whether to treat it as a friend or a foe.
Efforts to resolve the impasse will be front and center at a major Brazil ethanol summit that starts on Monday. The event brings together government officials including Energy Minister Edison Lobao, global energy executives, and members of the Unica ethanol industry group, which is hosting the event.
BRAZIL SEEKS TO BOOST STAGNANT ETHANOL INDUSTRY
SAO PAULO, June 6 (Reuters) - Brazil's government unveiled new financing and other incentives for sugar cane ethanol production on Monday, vowing to work closely with the private sector to boost production in an industry that has struggled recently despite its immense promise.
The state-run development bank BNDES announced that it would provide 30 billion to 35 billion reais ($19 billion to $22 billion) to finance expansion in the sugar cane sector through 2014, a major bet equivalent to about two-thirds of the industry's annual output.
DREYFUS TO INVEST IN ARGENTINE BIOFUEL PLANT-SOURCE
BUENOS AIRES, June 7 (Reuters) - Global commodities firm Louis Dreyfus will invest $40 million to build a biodiesel plant in Argentina's Rosario area, one of the world's biggest grains hubs, a company source said on Tuesday.
The South American country is one of the biggest global exporters of biodiesel, made using soyoil. Argentina is also the world's No.1 soyoil and soymeal supplier.
KHOSLA CHIDES BIG OIL FOR LACK OF BIOFUELS APPETITE
SAO PAULO, June 6 (Reuters) - Billionaire Vinod Khosla took Big Oil to task on Monday for taking more risk on a long-odds deepwater oil well than on the future of biomass energy that he says will change the world within decades.
Speaking the 2011 Brazilian Ethanol Summit in Sao Paulo, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems said that the world is on the verge of a technological breakthrough in cost-effectively converting crops like sugarcane into most of the fuels and consumer products that petroleum now provides.
BRAZIL GIVES FIRST DETAILS OF ETHANOL REGULATION
SAO PAULO, June 7 (Reuters) - Brazil's government will begin implementing fresh regulations to its ethanol market next month by requiring producers and distributors to fix one-year supply contracts, in a bid to curb shortages and price spikes, a top industry official said on Tuesday.
The regulations being implemented featured no plans for more onerous rules such as production targets, Allan Kardec, supply director for Brazil's National Oil and Biofuels agency or ANP.
BRAZIL ETHANOL MILLS SEE COSTS AS KEY TO SURVIVAL
SAO PAULO, June 7 (Reuters) - Cut costs, or fade away.
That was the challenge facing Brazilian sugarcane ethanol producers as they gathered on Tuesday for the second day of a major industry conference and debated ways to ensure that the biofuel lives up to its enormous hype in the coming decade.
Ethanol production costs have soared in recent years, but the rise cannot be fully passed along to Brazilian consumers because prices for gasoline at the pump have been essentially held down by the government since 2002. When ethanol prices rise too much, drivers tend to switch to gasoline.
BRAZIL TO SUFFER ETHANOL FUEL SHORTAGES FOR YEARS
SAO PAULO, June 7 (Reuters) - Brazil, the world's largest grower of the most promising biofuel feedstock of the future -- sugarcane -- will suffer shortages of fuel ethanol for several years to come due to the lack of investment in new planting.
After being forced to import gasoline in early 2010 and again earlier this year, a concerned Brazilian government set into motion a reform of regulation for the ethanol industry with the hope of boosting supply of the biofuel.
CARGILL, BRAZIL'S USJ CREATE JV FOR SUGAR, ETHANOL
SAO PAULO, June 2 (Reuters) - U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill said on Thursday it has created a joint venture with Brazilian cane group Usina Sao Joao (USJ) to operate in sugar, ethanol and bioelectricity.
Each company will have 50 percent of the venture, according to Cargill, which did not disclose financial details of the transaction.
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