Record Ethanol Production Met With Growing Competition

David Zimmerman, President and CEO of Big River Resources says that the United States is on track to set a record for ethanol exported at 1.8 billion gallons. He says that the United States typically exports 10 percent of production, which is not the case in 2024.

“With a 16 billion gallon production we’re going to, we’re going to best 10% this year.”

About half of the ethanol exported, says Zimmerman, goes to Canada. With Brazil’s growing and expanding corn market, the ethanol industry braces for more competition globally.

“They are roughly at 2 billion gallons of corn ethanol production and about 7 to 8 of sugarcane ethanol production. But we know the forecast we see going forward is they’re going to be probably in the up to 3 to 5 to maybe even 5 billion gallons of corn ethanol production in Brazil,” says Zimmerman. “So they’re taking this seriously. They’re also taking steps domestically to maximize how much of that ethanol goes into their fuel pool.”

In Brazil, there is a 100 percent hydrous ethanol or a 27 percent anhydrous ethanol. Zimmerman adds that the country’s leaders are currently looking to expand the market to include a 33 percent blend.