Good sugarcane harvest means ethanol will continue to be cheap in Brazil

Good news for Brazilians: the prices for ethanol has dropped 38 percent because of an increase in sugarcane production. Prices will continue its decrease, according to Júlio Maria Borges, an analyst at JOB Consultaría, even when the harvest finishes.

There are two determining factors for this decrease. One is the price of alcohol, which has dropped 18 percent. The second factor is the decrease in ethanol exportations. Despite President Lula da Silva's efforts to export Brazil's biofuel of choice, UNICA (the Brazilian association of sugarcane producers) expects to export just 3,100 million liters this year, whereas last year the number was 3,600 million. The US, which was one of the main customers for Brazilian ethanol, has reduced imports because of the increase in domestic production and the reduction of prices.

Related: [Source: Instituto Español de Comercio Exterior via Econoticias]

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