The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) both testified at a U.S. Department of Commerce hearing Thursday to provide input on a recent Executive Order concerning significant trade deficits. The NBB testified about the harm being caused to the U.S. biodiesel industry from increasing volumes of imports from Indonesia, while RFA was focused on China’s recent …
Branstad Touts Iowa Renewable Energy During China Hearing
During his confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to become U.S. Ambassador to China, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad had the opportunity to talk about his favorite subject – renewable energy. “Thank you for bringing that up because I’m very proud of where we’ve come from,” Branstad said in response to Sen. Tim Kaine (VA-D) asking about Iowa’s …
Global RFA Urges Renewed Pledge to CO2 Reduction
On Earth Day 2017, the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) called for a renewed global commitment to reducing CO2 emissions in the year ahead. GRFA president Bliss Baker notes that nearly 200 countries have signed on to the world’s first binding agreement on climate action. “What needs to happen next is the implementation of policies across the globe aimed at …
U.S. Initiating Biodiesel Anti-Dumping Investigation
As the U.S. Commerce Department last week initiated formal antidumping and countervailing duty investigations of biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia, the biodiesel industry was giving testimony to the International Trade Commission on how those countries are violating trade laws and injuring American manufacturers and workers. Biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia surged by 464 percent from 2014 to 2016, …
#RFANEC Attendees Introduced to EXIM Bank
One of the sessions held during last week’s National Ethanol Conference gave attendees the opportunity to learn more about the Export Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), the official export credit agency of the U.S. government. In her presentation, Sandra Donzella, Deputy Managing Director for the Western Region, explained how EXIM provides help to exporters by filling financing gaps …
Ethanol Export Opportunities in Sight at #RFANEC
For the second year in a row, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) joined with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration to host an International Buyer Program (IBP) at the National Ethanol Conference. The program, designed to introduce U.S. ethanol sellers to foreign buyers in an effort to expand U.S. exports, included 18 international companies from seven top ethanol …
Global #Ethanol Production Stable
The latest Global Ethanol Production Forecast from the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) and F.O. Licht predicts the global ethanol sector will remain strong in 2017, with total production peaking at 97.80 billion litres this year. The forecast shows a stable global outlook for ethanol production as a whole, “with some fluctuations in major ethanol producing regions as a result …
China Supreme Court Rules for Novozymes
In a landmark biotechnology ruling, the Supreme People’s Court of China has ruled in favor of Novozymes, upholding the company’s patent on enzymes for production of fuel ethanol and beverage alcohol. The patent dispute began in 2011, when Novozymes found evidence that Shandong Longda Bio-Products Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Boli Bioproducts Co., Ltd. were producing and selling a proprietary Novozymes …
FS Bioenergia Names CEO
FS Bioenergia has announced that international agribusiness executive Henrique Ubrig will serve as the chief executive officer for the corn ethanol production facility being built in Brazil as a collaboration between Brazilian agribusiness Fiagril and U.S.-based Summit Agricultural Group. “This is an exciting opportunity to make a significant difference in agriculture and renewable energy here in Brazil,” Ubrig said. “FS …
New UN Report Shows Food vs Fuel Fallacy
A new report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) finds that food prices declined for the fifth year in a row in 2016, down 1.5 percent from 2015. That included a steady decline in cereal prices- which includes maize or corn – which fell 9.6 percent from 2015 and were down 39 percent from their 2011 peak. …