US fuel ethanol exports fell 9% in 2020

U.S. fuel ethanol exports totaled 87,000 barrels per day (b / d) in 2020, marking the second consecutive annual decline for that indicator.

Also the volume represents the lowest level since 2015.

At the same time, imports of fuel ethanol from the United States declined in 2020.

Thus, the United States exported more fuel ethanol than it imported for the eleventh year in a row.

According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), annual exports of fuel ethanol from the United States fell 9% in 2020.

At the same time, the number of export destinations increased from 44 in 2019 to 52 in 2020.

About 40% of all US fuel ethanol exports went to Brazil and Canada, although both countries decreased their fuel ethanol imports from the US market compared to 2019.

Ethanol exports

Brazil, the world’s second largest producer and consumer of fuel ethanol, reduced its fuel ethanol imports from the United States significantly for the second year in a row, falling to 13,000 b / d in 2020.

Ethanol consumption is high in Brazil due to its requirement to mix that product, which is currently set at 27%, and the demand for hydrated ethanol (E100), which competes with traditional gasoline blends.

Above all, Brazil produces fuel ethanol from sugar cane.

As a result, Brazil produces most of its fuel ethanol during the sugarcane harvest period (May to October).

Brazilian imports of fuel ethanol from the United States typically peak between harvest seasons.

The United States and Brazil are trading partners for fuel ethanol.

For its part, the United States reduced its imports of sugarcane fuel ethanol from Brazil in 2020 to 9,000 b / d, 4,000 b / d less than in 2019.

Always in accordance with EIA information, all US imports of fuel ethanol from Brazil entered the United States through California due to the favorable treatment of the fuel compared to domestic corn ethanol under the US Low Carbon Fuel Standard. California (LCFS).