UK wheat ethanol projects may use up to 19 percent of annual crop; Farmers Union says ethanol is a price support

In the UK, The Times is reporting that the Ensus and Hull wheat ethanol plants are expected to utilize 19 percent of the British wheat harvest – or 2.3 million tonnes out of a total annual harvest of 14 million tonnes. The chairman of the National Farmers Union crops board, however, welcomed the plants despite the prospect of wheat imports to meet food needs, saying that the plants represented a price support for the wheat crop.

The Times report focused attention on the prospects for wheat self-sufficiency in low harvest conditions — when harvests fall as low as 12 million tonnes and bit into the annual surplus of UK wheat of 500,000-3 million tonnes. The NFU said that, in addition to ethanol, the wheat used by the Ensus and Hull plants would supply 350,000 tonnes of animal feed. Total investment in the Ensus and Hull projects is projected at $800 million. Shell will use ethanol from Ensus and BP will utilize ethanol from the Hull plant.

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