Recent changes in Vietnam and Indonesia are seen to create increased opportunities for the export of US ethanol, according to the US Grains Council (USGC), an export trade body.
Vietnam has reduced the most favored nation (MFN) tariffs for both 100% pure ethanol and 99% or less pure ethanol to 15% with effect from July 10, 2020. The previous import tariffs were 17% for the former and 20% the latter product.
Vietnam represents a market with an ethanol deficit of 170 million gallons, USGC estimates. In the 2018/2019 marketing year, the US exported some 3.5 million gallons of ethanol to the country plus around 16 million gallons through the South Korean transshipment market.
Indonesia, meanwhile, has removed a ban on imports of pre-blended fuel, which, USGC says opens a potential market of over 200 million gallons for US ethanol. Imports of RON 88 and RON 92 gasoline containing up to 3% and up to 7% ethanol, respectively will now be possible.
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Image by Jenn Durfey licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Flickr.
