US ethanol exports off to strong start in new marketing year

Exports of US ethanol began with notable growth in the first month of the new marketing year, according to recent data published by US Department of Agriculture’s Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS). 

The top three customers of US ethanol in September 2016 were Canada, Brazil, and China, respectively.

Exports of US ethanol totalled 99.6 million gallons (903,000 tonnes of corn equivalent).

Canada imported more than 27.9 million gallons (253,000 tonnes of corn equivalent) of US ethanol this September, an increase of 34% from the previous month and 7% from September 2015.

US ethanol exports to Canada had been down since December 2014.

Exports to Brazil equated to 18.1 million gallons (164,000 tonnes of corn equivalent) in September, an exponential increase from the same time last year.

This export volume represents the fourth highest to Brazil in the past 12 months.

China imported a total of 17.8 million gallons (162,000 tonnes of corn equivalent) of ethanol in September, marking a four-month high of US ethanol exports to China and an exponential increase from August.

The surge in ethanol exports has been the highest since December 2011, when it totalled 178 million gallons (1.6 million tonnes in corn equivalent).

The price of US ethanol has been significantly lower than other competitors, causing sales to increase during September, said US Grains Council.