Brazilian industry group UNICA on Monday said Brazil could become the destination for excess US ethanol exports generated amid a trade feud between the US and China, which could result in market disruption for the South American country, Brasil Agro reported.
UNICA CEO Eduardo Leao de Sousa said the US exports 4 billion liters of ethanol annually to Brazil, China and Canada, but if Chinese exports are eliminated, the exports could be diverted to Brazil.
Brazil consumes 28 billion liters of ethanol annually and exports 1 billion liters. In the short term, the excess ethanol in the market would place Brazil at a disadvantage, he said.
China plans to raise the ethanol content in its gasoline to 10%, which will boost local consumption from 4 million liters to 20 billion liters, but long-term prospects for the global ethanol market are unknown, the CEO said, Brasil Agro reported.