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Ag economist says corn for ethanol use is flattening

An ag economist says corn use for ethanol is flattening out.

Todd Hubbs with the University of Illinois tells Brownfield corn use for ethanol is down about 4% from this time last year and he is projecting it at 5.4 billion bushels, at best, for the 2019-2020 marketing year.

“We need some kind of change in the issue surrounding RFS or a trade deal or some kind of unexpected jump in gasoline consumption or higher blend consumption to see that number grow.”

He says ethanol exports regressed a little the past year.

“We exported less to Brazil and we have exported nothing to China. The wild card in that is a trade deal. If we got a trade deal with China, you could see ethanol exports pick up to China in a significant way.”

Hubbs says there might be some growth over last year for ethanol exports as countries like India and Indonesia continue to expand their imports from the US.