Brazil's total ethanol output might triple by 2020, a senior Brazilian sugar cane industry official said on Monday, adding that ethanol exports jumped 20 percent in the first half of 2008 versus a year ago.
"Between the first semester of 2007 and the first semester of 2008 our global exports of ethanol increased by 20 percent. The increase of exports to the United States was a bit smaller," said Geraldine Kutas, International Director of Brazil's Cane Industry Association (Unica).
Exports to the United States represent about 50 percent of Brazil's total ethanol exports, Kutas told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of an energy conference in Slovenia. She said the high cost of ethanol enabled Brazil to ship about half of its ethanol exports to the United States directly, despite high tariffs, while the other half is shipped there via the Caribbean.