U.S. ethanol exports exceed 800 million gallons for second consecutive year
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced on Monday that U.S. ethanol exports have exceeded 800 million gallons for the second consecutive year.
Exports reached 844 million gallons in 2015 compared to 846 million gallons in 2014. EIA also noted that ethanol imports increased over the same time frame, from 73 million gallons in 2014 to 92 million gallons in 2015. In total, the U.S. remained a net exporter of fuel ethanol for the sixth consecutive year and exported fuel to 35 different countries last year.
In typical use, ethanol is primarily used as a blending component in motor gasoline, with a mix of 90/10 gas to ethanol ratio known as E10. Corn is the primary source for ethanol production and large harvests have contributed to increased ethanol production in recent years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that the U.S. produced 13.6 billion bushels of corn during the last harvest year, down four percent from the year prior but on par with the harvest in 2013.
The increase in ethanol imports and exports stems from overall gasoline use, which rose 2.7 percent over the previous year. This rate of demand is the highest the U.S. has seen since 2007.
