The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) organized a mission to Brazil last week to learn about the market potential Brazilian corn ethanol has domestically and globally and about logistics faced by U.S. ethanol exporters to Brazil at the main ports situated in the northeastern part of the country.
The team included Duane Kristensen, Chief Ethanol Fuels, Inc.; Mackenzie Boubin, USGC director of global ethanol market development; Juan Sebastian Diaz, USGC regional ethanol consultant for Latin America; Danielle Ramos, government affairs coordinator with Suape Port; and Kelly Nieuwenhuis, Iowa Corn Promotion Board. They are pictured here with Danielle Ramos, government affairs coordinator with Suape Port; and Fernanda Burle with MJAB.
The Council has been active in Brazil advocating to reduce the duties applied to U.S. ethanol and to help certify ethanol plants under the RenovaBio program. In March 2022, Brazil decided to drop the common Mercosur duty of 20 percent on all ethanol imports until Dec. 31 as an effort against inflation. Council efforts this year have been aimed at turning this into a permanent decision.
This week, the council organized a group of representatives from the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council, Ohio Corn Marketing Program and the Kentucky Corn Promotion Council to Sonora, Mexico, to check out some investments made by their organizations to increase utilization of DDGS.
The organizations have been working with the Sonora Pork Producers Association, an MOU partner, in Ferropuerto on increasing the volume of distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) among swine, poultry and cattle producers and will begin working closely with the Hermosillo Cattle Producers Association on conducting proper analysis of feed rations to fully utilize the value of U.S. corn.
Through this mission, the Council looks to maintain its long-term relationships with major grain importers and end users across Sonora, while solidifying strategic relationships in Mexico by working directly with organizations in U.S. corn-producing states.
USGC President and CEO Ryan LeGrand talked about the council’s efforts to increase exports of U.S. ethanol and co-products in this interview at the recent American Coalition for Ethanol conference.
ACE22 interview with USGC CEO Ryan LeGrand (7:34)