International Sugar Organization says rising ethanol demand will keep prices from collapsing

The executive director of the International Sugar Organization (ISO) said that growth in demand from Asia and the Middle East, as well as rising ethanol production, will keep sugar safe from the commodities meltdown experienced in recent weeks. He said that as long as the price of oil stays above $50 per barrel, sugarcane ethanol would remain an economically viable alternative to petroleum. Peter Baron added in a Reuters interview that the impact of the financial crisis would be limited to a slowdown in mill construction and ethanol refining investment.

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