Plantations International News

Argentina is set to beef up its ethanol production by increasing the required blend of ethanol in gasoline from 10% to 12%, according to media reports.

The South American country’s President, Mauricio Macri, said the additional ethanol would be exclusively derived from sugar, according to news agency Reuters.

The increase should provide a boost to farmers there who have been struggling with a slump in global sugar prices since 2010 due to oversupply.

“This announcement that the blend of ethanol in gasoline will rise to 12% from 10% guarantees the growth of the region,” Macri told Reuters.

Argentina, an agricultural powerhouse, produces all the ethanol it uses.

Ethanol production is about 800,000 cubic meters, of which 59% is corn-based and 41% is cane-based, the head of the Argentine Biofuels Association, Claudio Molina, told the news agency.

“This will mean some 160,000 cubic meters more of ethanol are needed, at a moment when sugar prices are very low,” Molina said. “So this is a very positive outcome for the whole sugarcane value chain.”

Biofuels Plantations International