Ethanol producers are looking to increase the presence of U.S. ethanol abroad as more countries see the fuel source as a way to meet renewable fuel commitments.
Canada has already become a major importer of U.S. ethanol and is poised to buy more due to clean fuel regulations, and other countries are considering updating their own fuel standards, Mackenzie Boubin, director of global ethanol export development for the U.S. Grains Council, said at the American Coalition for Ethanol's annual conference on Friday.
The United States exported about 1.35 billion gallons of ethanol in 2022, according to the Agriculture Department's Agricultural Marketing Service. The total volume was below the record 1.67 gallons purchased in 2018 due in part to Brazil seeing a "near 90% percent collapse in imports during the last five years," Boubin said.
However, the value of 2022's exports reached a record high of $3.8 billion, an increase of approximately 36% from 2021 and up 29.5% from 2018. Much of that growth came from Canada, which imported over $1.5 billion worth of ethanol.
"It's the minivan of the ethanol industry," Boubin said of the Canadian market. "It does all the work, it gets none of the credit. It's not very glamorous like some of the other markets, but it's one that is consistently reliable and gets the job done."
Canada Clean Fuel Regulations share some similarities with California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Boubin said the nation is expecting ethanol to be the "lowest cost, easiest access" way to meet its objectives for the program, creating short-term potential for Canada to import an additional 530 to 550 million gallons of U.S. ethanol per year, Boubin said.
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South Korea is another important market for U.S. ethanol, and with the country expressing interest in a renewable fuel standard, is expected to continue to be a major importer, Boubin said. Approximately $401 million of the fuel was exported to South Korea in 2022.
Japan, too, could be another source for ethanol, since it implemented a biofuel policy in April aiming to double domestic ethanol consumption by 2030, according to Boubin. Taiwan, while small, is also being eyed by the U.S. Grains Council as a potential importer due to its decarbonization efforts.
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