Three ethanol trade teams consisting of ministry and industry delegates traversed the U.S. ethanol value chain from the field to the pump ahead of the Ethanol Summit of the Americas. The three teams included representatives from 12 countries that explored the U.S. ethanol industry in Missouri, South Dakota and Ohio.
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Teams from across the Western Hemisphere toured the field to the pump in Missouri, South Dakota and Ohio ahead of the Ethanol Summit of the Americas. |
The tours provided an opportunity to exchange information about ethanol policies and facilities in the United States, furthering support of development of biofuels policies.
“The Western Hemisphere is a major focus for our ethanol policy engagement and discussion,” said Marri Carrow Tejada, USGC regional director for the Western Hemisphere. “These tours provide ethanol stakeholders in target countries with an understanding of our own domestic policies that will set a foundation for USGC engagement in each one in the coming year.”
“Participants from across the region also engage with one another to share experiences with advancing the bioeconomy in their respective countries, allowing the teams to learn from each other as well as the stops on their tours.”
Representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala and Bolivia traveled to Missouri to visit local farms and ethanol plants and learn more about U.S. ethanol production, retail ethanol sales, rail infrastructure and other topics.
In South Dakota, trade team members from Colombia, Panama, Uruguay, Peru, Paraguay and Costa Rica met with the American Coalition for Ethanol and toured local farms, grain elevator facilities and ethanol plants.
A third delegation, from Mexico, traveled to Ohio to experience corn production from the field to fuel with Ohio farmers and the clean air benefits of ethanol blended fuel with the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest. They also met with contacts knowledgeable about ethanol production, consumer acceptance, logistical concerns and solutions, pump and retailer competition and other topics.
“Huge opportunities exist in Mexico for Mexican ethanol stakeholders, and these tours provide more educational background regarding the development of the U.S. industry,” said Ryan LeGrand, USGC Mexico director, who traveled with the team. “Trade teams like the one this week are part of continued ethanol market development efforts to boost the Hemisphere’s use of ethanol.”
Following their respective trade team visits, the participants gathered in Houston, Texas, to attend the Ethanol Summit of the Americas, organized by the Council in conjunction with Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board.
Learn more about the Ethanol Summit of the Americas in the above story.
