The lobby of the biofuel manufacturers and climate experts uncomfortable questions to Brazil's decision to phase out the tax breaks for ethanol at the end of the year.
At the world climate conference in 2015 in Paris Brazil promised the international community to expand its ethanol and bio-diesel blending up to 18% by 2030. Currently 30 billion litres of ethanol produced, and the amount would increase according to this calculation in the year 2030 to 50 billion liters. This contribution of Brazil was decisive for the development of a joint declaration at the world climate conference.
Last Wednesday, the Brazilian Government now says that the tariffs for the export of ethanol to expire at the end of the year would let, because you need the income to overcome the worst economic crisis since 1930.
This makes less competitive the biodiesel compared to diesel from crude oil production, which should lead to a higher import of fossil fuels for Brazil. The stated goal of climate from the Paris Conference is now in danger. On paper, the Parisians still good looks Declaration, but she become now a non-binding letter of intent, so Andre Luis Ferreira, Director of the Brazilian Institute for energy and the environment in Sao Paulo.
Elisabeth Farina, President of Unica, Brazil's sugar cane industry said that a return will force to export Customs for ethanol, the farmers to produce more sugar, because you could make more money instead of bio-fuels. This was as opposed to fossil diesel fuel Co2 climate-neutral ethanol.
On Friday, the trading house FCStone estimated that litre ethanol be produced 26.8 billion in the Center-South, the core area of sugar cane production in 2016/17. 4.7% less than in the previous year.
The Brazilian Minister of agriculture Blairo Maggi is of the opinion that sugar mills, which depend on the current market situation by Government grants, not efficiently and have no market authorization. It has indignant industry representatives.
Because the South American country does not have enough refineries, the import of diesel would be the logical consequence from the reintroduction of export duties for ethanol as a broker for sugar and ethanol.
