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Ethanol exports remain a strong demand driver, economist says

The chief economist for the Renewable Fuels Association says the outlook for U.S. ethanol exports is strong.

“We’ve seen good, solid growth over the last few years,” RFA’s Scott Richman said.

Richman says the U.S. continues to break yearly export records.

“A little bit over a third goes to Canada,” he said. “Very solid, very good market. Another third goes to a combination of the European Union, the United Kingdom, and India. Then there are some second tier markets in addition to that.”

He tells Brownfield exports account for nearly 13% of U.S. ethanol demand. He says some countries, like Canada, have put in place clean fuel regulations that have helped boost consumption.

“India has moved rapidly to 20% ethanol blends,” he said. “And while imports of U.S. ethanol cannot be used directly for fuel purposes in India, it’s created this larger overall market that we’ve been able to sell into.”

The most recent weekly export data from the U.S. Energy Information Administrationshows ethanol exports last week averaged 113,000 barrels per day, a decline of 35,000 from the previous week and 42,000 from a year ago.

Scott Richman Video Interview: