US February ethanol exports reach record high of 218.7 million gallons

In Washington, the United States recorded the highest-ever monthly exports total for U.S. ethanol in February 2018 at 218.7 million gallons, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. February sales bring U.S. ethanol exports to nearly 768 million gallons thus far in the 2017/2018 marketing year (September 2017-February 2018), a 6 percent increase over last year’s record-setting pace.

Brazil applied a 20 percent tariff in September 2017 on all imports of ethanol after a 600 million liter (158.5 million gallon) tariff rate quota (TRQ). Even with the full tariff applied, 103 million gallons of U.S. ethanol were shipped to Brazil in the month of February—the most ethanol exports to Brazil in a single month. Overall, Brazil has imported nearly 253 million gallons of U.S. ethanol this marketing year.