Brazil plans to increase the share of ethanol in gasoline to 32%, which will increase ethanol production by 15% and support sugar prices

Amid high global oil prices, the Brazilian government has decided to increase the use of biofuels domestically, increasing the share of ethanol in gasoline from 30% to 32% in the first half of the year.

This will boost demand for ethanol and increase the amount of sugarcane processed into biofuel to 54% compared to 51% in the previous season.

The timing of the decision coincides with the start of the sugarcane harvest season, when mills will split their harvest between sugar and ethanol production.

Due to increased ethanol production from sugarcane and corn, total ethanol production in Brazil will increase by 15% compared to the previous season and reach a record 44-44.5 billion liters, which will reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuels and support the sugarcane biofuel processing industry.

Increasing the share of sugarcane that will be processed into ethanol will reduce sugar production and support sugar prices, which have fallen to rock-bottom levels in recent years.