Ethanol producers exported a record amount of their product in July, according to government data released today. some 127.4 million gallons were shipped overseas in July, topping the 120.1 million exported in April, says Geoff Cooper of the Renewable Fuels Association. The July total was double the amount of exports in June.
The exports “continue to be driven by the fact that corn ethanol is currently the lowest-cost motor fuel source in the world,” Cooper said. “High sugar prices and lower-than-expected sugarcane ethanol output in South America have allowed the United States to overtake Brazil as the world’s leading ethanol exporter.”
Through the first seven months of the year, the United States exported 588.5 million gallons of ethanol, 7.5 percent of total U.S. production, Cooper said. Brazil and Canada have been the leading importers of U.S. ethanol so far in 2011, each importing about 155 million gallons.
