Brazil Now Go-To Country For Ethanol Production

Brazil has become the Mecca for all things ethanol. Why? Because they are the best in the world in producing it.

The South American country has been doing it since the 1970s when Brazil's military dictators subsidized its production and required distribution at the pumps. Now just about every country in the world wants to produce ethanol and they are looking at Brazil to learn how to do it.


Just in the last five years, Brazil has increased its ethanol production up 40 percent from 3 million gallons in 2002 to 4.2 million gallons in 2006. It's no wonder, then, that Brazil has become the "Saudi Arabia" of renewable fuel.

Currently, the U.S. imposes a 54 cents-per-gallon tariff on imported Brazilian ethanol. Look for that tariff to go down or even be eliminated. The president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is lobbying hard for its elimination. Same from Jeb Bush, former Florida Governor and current co-director of the Interamerican Ethanol Commission, (and President George W. Bush's brother).


Other countries getting involved include Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras. These countries are big sugarcane producers, which can be used to make ethanol. Moreover, Mexico is also getting involved using its abundance of corn.

http://blogs.automotive.com/6207100/miscellaneous/ethanol-may-from-from-the-south-south-america-that-is/