Brazil’s corn-based ethanol industry taking the brunt of oil price collapse

In Brazil, Bloomberg reports that the country’s fledgling corn-based ethanol industry is taking the hardest hit from the sudden drop in oil prices that are in turn pushing ethanol prices into the floor. Already crush margins for corn-based ethanol in Goias state have flipped negative and if the trend continues for much longer, as many as 60% of planned projects could be cancelled. A third of existing corn-based ethanol production is located in Goias state.