Brazil’s Bolsonaro blames ethanol blend for high gasoline prices

In Brazil, Argus Media reports that President Jair Bolsonaro blamed Brazil’s anhydrous ethanol blend for high gasoline prices, hinting that he could push to reduce the blend, in yet another potential blow to the biofuels industry.

In his weekly broadcast on social media, Bolsonaro said that “the price of gasoline could fall a little if the level of ethanol in gasoline is lowered.”

Bolsonaro said that gasoline costs “an average of R2 ($0.37/liter) at the refinery, adding that the “prices increase because ethanol is added.”

The discussion regarding the possible reduction in the ethanol blend, currently at 27pc for E27 gasoline, comes after the biodiesel industry has faced a series of reductions in the mandatory blend in response to broader government concerns about rising fuel prices.

The Bolsonaro administration has lowered the biodiesel blend, used for trucks and farm machinery, on several occasions over the past year. Earlier this month, the national energy policy council (CNPE) reduced the blending mandate for an October biodiesel auction to supply the market in November and December to 10pc from 12pc.