BNDES to provide up to $552 million to mills for offsetting ethanol storage costs

In Brazil, the national development bank, BNDES, has approved up to $552 million in loans to help ethanol producers store the fuel until prices are higher during the intercrop season. The funds could help to store up to 1.4 billion liters of ethanol, roughly 5% of the expected production from the current harvest. Last year’s storage financing was announced in June, in the middle of the crop, meaning that mills have suffered further having to wait for news if this credit line would be launched this year or not, and for how much.