Fuel and transport stakeholders from six countries traveled to Fargo, North Dakota, last week for an ethanol procurement course hosted by the U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council and North Dakota Corn, a trade-promotion effort designed to help importers acquire U.S. ethanol in their home markets. Participants came from Ghana, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique and Nigeria, and the training was held at the Northern Crops Institute, the council said. USGBC framed the course as a practical step to lower friction in ethanol trade by sharpening how buyers evaluate and execute purchases.
Alicia Koch, USGBC director of global ethanol export development, said strengthening buyers’ understanding of how ethanol is produced, traded and integrated into fuel markets is central to expanding international inroads for U.S. ethanol. The training focused on technical capacity and decision-making on sourcing, risk management and market evaluation, she said, with the goal of streamlining exports; Koch said streamlining can benefit customers by potentially reducing costs and emissions.
The agenda linked classroom instruction to on-the-ground exposure across the supply chain, starting with an overview of U.S. corn and ethanol production delivered by farmers and industry experts at NCI. Named speakers included North Dakota Corn Growers Association Executive Director Brenda Elmer and North Dakota Corn Utilization Council Chairman Carson Klosterman. Participants also visited NDCGA Vice President Ben Bakko’s farm and toured an ethanol plant, which organizers described as hands-on reinforcement aimed at building trust in the U.S. ethanol value chain.
Later sessions moved from production into trade execution, covering shipping logistics and international ethanol policies that affect market capacity. The program also included a deeper dive into ethanol economics, including pricing and market dynamics, and addressed the role of co-products such as distiller’s dried grains with solubles, noting that DDGS has separate uses that can factor into procurement discussions.
Sustainability positioning ran through the curriculum as USGBC and North Dakota Corn connected procurement decisions to carbon claims and emerging end uses. Speakers described ethanol as a tool for reducing carbon intensity and referenced potential applications in aviation and marine fuels, describing those sectors as possible avenues to expand environmental and health-related benefits.
USGBC also used the course to put buyers in direct contact with producers and other market participants involved in execution. Koch said the training served customers from varied regions at different stages of ethanol capacity and integration, and she said involving producers and USGBC members in trade-team agendas improves understanding and trust by connecting participants directly to growers and logistics involved in delivering U.S. ethanol globally.
