The U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council (USGBC) and member representatives recently joined a USDA Trade Mission to Manila, Philippines to maintain momentum for U.S. exporters of ethanol in that country’s growing economy.

Renewable Fuels Association Vice President of Government Affairs Ed Hubbard and Eco-Energy Vice President of Global Trade Hagan Rose were among those who took part in the trade mission, which was headlined by the opening of a retail gas station in Manila carrying gasoline blended with 20 percent ethanol (E20).

The Philippines is the U.S.’ largest ethanol trading partner in Southeast Asia, with more than 101 million gallons of U.S. ethanol exported to the country in 2025. The Philippines E10 mandate, that began in 2013, has delivered a win-win outcome for the U.S.-Philippines economic partnership, and total gasoline demand in the country surpassed two billion gallons for the first time last year.

Ethanol production in the Philippines has increased by nearly 450 percent since the inception of the mandate, and U.S. ethanol now accounts for roughly 45 percent of the country’s total ethanol demand. This mutually beneficial trade relationship, forged through ethanol, helps stimulate further investment in the Philippines domestic ethanol industry, as U.S. ethanol imports help lower the average price of ethanol and gasoline in the country.

The Council’s team met with the Ethanol Producers Association of the Philippines (EPAP) afterward to discuss next steps in expanding E20 access to other regions of the country.