The US Grains Council (USGC) at the end of October signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade on promoting ethanol use and availability in the Asian country.
The deal, signed during the Indo-Pacific Business Forum, comes after in July Vietnam reduced tariff rates for the US ethanol industry.
In January-August 2020, US ethanol sales to Vietnam were up 12% year-on-year to 2.72 million gallons (10.3 million liters).
USGC says that Vietnam’s ethanol industry relies on locally-grown cassava and cannot meet the needs for the country’s E5 blend standard, adopted in 2018. The organisation has recently helped Vietnam’s only ethanol-producer, the Tung Lam Company, to move partially to corn as feedstock for greater economic efficiency.
If Vietnam moves to an E10 blend policy, it could become a 218 million gallon (825 million liter) ethanol market, USGC estimates.
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Image by U.S. GRAINS COUNCIL.
