Brazilian ag minister frustrated by delays in support for sugar and ethanol industry

In Brazil, Reuters reports that the country’s agriculture minister is “frustrated” with the slow pace of supports for the sugar and ethanol industry suffering from COVID-19. A range of support measures were meant to be published last week but they were stuck within the economy ministry and further delayed by the May 1 holiday. The long-awaited increase on CIDE tax on gasoline may be announced early this week instead but with ethanol demand down by more than half and the switch to more sugar production weighing on the global market, more needs to be done to stabilize the industry.