Colombia seen as major opportunity for US ethanol

In Washington, the US Grains Council says Colombia represents a burgeoning market for U.S. ethanol, with the Colombian government increasing the national blend mandate to E10 in March 2018.

Colombia has a growing domestic ethanol industry, producing sugar-based ethanol. U.S. ethanol enters Colombia duty free per the terms of the U.S.–Colombia trade agreement, but the government’s current low-carbon fuel standard discriminates against corn-based ethanol. Still, some U.S. refineries can meet the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions required in the standard.

Despite these challenges, Colombia set a new record for U.S. ethanol imports in 2016/2017, purchasing 13.7 million gallons. Imports in the current marketing year have nearly tripled year-over-year to 28.7 million gallons.