20110714 1113 Biofuels Related News.

COLUMN-HO-HUM USDA REPORT MAY BE BAD NEWS FOR ETHANOL: MAGUIRE
-- Gavin Maguire is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own. To get his real-time views on the market, please join the Global Ags Forum. --
CHICAGO, July 12 (Reuters) - Tuesday's monthly USDA supply and demand report may have lacked the fireworks of the June 30 stocks and acreage update, but nonetheless it marked a significant milestone by ranking ethanol as the single largest consumer of the U.S. corn crop for the second month in a row.
This official categorizing of ethanol as the country's top corn user comes at a time when the ethanol industry is already receiving blame for fueling record food prices while losing key government subsidy support as lawmakers crack down on spending, and so will be an unwelcome development for ethanol makers who would rather see their profile in the agriculture arena decline instead of increase.

MALAYSIA TRADE MIN: EU MUST CLARIFY BIOFUEL RULES
BRUSSELS, July 12 (Reuters) - Europe must be more transparent about how it measures the environmental impact of biofuels before thinking of penalising palm oil exporters, a senior Malaysian minister said.
Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed said the EU was revealing too little about its plans to limit imports of biofuels that it deems to be doing more harm than good to the environment.

BRAZIL TO ADD SUGAR MILLS SLOWLY -RABOBANK
SAO PAULO, July 12 (Reuters) - Top producer Brazil is expected to add new sugar milling capacity slowly, in part due to high costs, signalling tightness in the sugar market in the medium term, a senior Rabobank analyst said on Tuesday.
Due to its favourable agro-climate and extensive untapped land, Brazil has been seen as the best prospect to boost sugar production and meet growing world demand for the sweetener.

ETHANOL, CHINA KEEP US CORN SUPPLY TIGHT
WASHINGTON, July 12 (Reuters) - U.S. corn stocks will languish near 15-year lows for longer than expected as ethanol plants overtake livestock as the biggest consumers of the feed grain and China buys more American corn, according to government forecasts.
The U.S. Agriculture Department, as expected, boosted its forecasts on Tuesday of ending stocks this year and next, largely due to weaker-than-expected consumption by the livestock sector this year. But the revisions fell short of analysts' forecasts and supported prices that have fallen 15 percent from their peak on signs of healthier supplies.

UNICA TO RELEASE BRAZIL SUGAR FORECAST WEDNESDAY
SAO PAULO, July 11 (Reuters) - Brazilian cane industry group Unica plans to release its latest forecast for 2011/12 sugar production in the center-south of Brazil on Wednesday, a spokesperson said on Monday.
The sugar market is focused on Unica's forecast after private analysts including Datagro and London-based merchant Czarnikow reduced their projections for Brazilian output. Brazil is the world's top producer and exporter of sugar.

ANDERSONS ADD CHEAP US WHEAT TO CORN-BASED ETHANOL
KANSAS CITY, Mo.,July 8 (Reuters) - The Andersons Inc , a major U.S. ethanol producer, has started mixing a small percentage of wheat along with costlier corn to make the alternative fuel, diversifying its sourcing amid increasingly tight corn supplies.
Andersons, which operates three U.S. ethanol plants with total capacity of 300 million gallons, confirmed it has started using soft red winter wheat along with corn, taking advantage of a rare inversion in prices for the grains.

CLIMATE IMPACT THREATENS BIODIESEL FUTURE IN EU
BRUSSELS, July 8 (Reuters) - Europe's biodiesel industry could be wiped out by EU plans to tackle the unwanted side effects of biofuel production, after studies showed few climate benefits, four papers obtained by Reuters show.
Europe's world-leading $13 billion biodiesel industry, which has boomed in the wake of a decision by Brussels policymakers in 2003 to promote it, is now on the verge of being legislated out of existence after the studies revealed biodiesel's indirect impact cancels out most of its benefits.

GERMAN BIOFUEL FIRM CHOREN DECLARES INSOLVENCY
HAMBURG, July 8 (Reuters) - German second generation biofuels company Choren Industries GmbH has declared insolvency, a company spokesperson said on Friday.
Choren is building Germany's first biofuels plant producing using second generations of biomass raw materials.

LOW YIELDS PUT DENT IN BRAZIL SUGAR, ETHANOL -UNICA
BRASILIA, July 7 (Reuters) - Disappointing yields will cut Brazil's 2011/12 production of both sugar and ethanol biofuel below last year's levels, the technical director at Brazil's cane industry association Unica told Reuters on Thursday.
Antonio de Padua Rodrigues said sugar production in Brazil's center south sugar production would fall below last year's output of 33.5 million tonnes, a sharp drop from the association's existing official estimate of 34.6 million.

US SENATE DEAL WOULD AXE $6 BLN ETHANOL TAX CREDIT
WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - Three U.S. senators reached a deal on Thursday to repeal the $6 billion per year ethanol tax credit by the end of July, an agreement that must still be passed by Congress.
The loss of the subsidy could add extra costs for ethanol blenders such as Valero Energy Corp  and Marathon Oil Corp , but it is unlikely to reduce demand for corn.

US OFFERS HELP TO FINANCE FIRST ADVANCED ETHANOL PLANT
WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department on Thursday provided a $105 million conditional loan guarantee to help finance the first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in the country.
The Iowa-based plant, which would be operated by privately-held POET LLC, would use corncobs, leaves, husks and some stalks provided by local farmers to produce up to 25 million gallons of advanced ethanol a year.