The EU increased its imports of US dried distillers grains (DDGS) by 74% in January, purchasing 70,774 tonnes, most of which destined for Ireland, according to data compiled by the US Renewable Fuels Association (RFA).
This represents almost a tenth of the US DDGS exports for the month, which declined 13% to 770,344 tonnes. The main buyers were Mexico and South Korea.
In 2022, the EU was the sixth largest buyer of US DDGS, increasing its purchases by 32% from 2021 to 720,600 tonnes. Ahead of it were Mexico, Vietnam, South Korea, Canada and Indonesia. Turkey was also a large buyer, although its imports fell 49% to 422,800 tonnes.
US ethanol exports, meanwhile, had a different start to the year, showing a 59% jump to 117.8 million gallons (445.9 million litres). Exports to the EU rose from minimal volumes to 11.7 million gallons. The EU was the third largest importer of US ethanol in 2022, after Canada and South Korea. US ethanol sales to the EU increased 56% to 129.5 million gallons in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
