Pique Oil: Big Ethanol, Sick of Criticism, Lashes Out at Big Oil

July 8, 2008, 4:56 pm
Posted by Jeffrey Ball

Dow Jones Newswires’ Kenneth Rapoza reports from Brazil:
As the Group of Eight presidential leaders finish their meeting today in Japan, where food and fuel crises took center stage, the world’s leading ethanol trade groups joined forces to argue it’s not their fault food prices are so high. Their message: Blame oil.

The U.S. and Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, European Bioethanol Fuel Association and the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association all said in a letter to G8 presidents dated Monday that:

“…the sudden and rapid increase in food prices around the world has multiple causes, not the least of which is oil already priced at $140 per barrel. Much of the world’s agriculture and food transportation are reliant on oil, and drastically higher oil prices increase prices all along the food chain.”

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