I am in Brazil this week, and met today with people from the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA). In Brazil this means they are active energy players, as over half of the crop in Brazil is used for ethanol. In recent years they have become an effective lobbying force not just in Brazil, but also in Washington (and in Brussels).

They presented an ambitious future, with production and productivity increasing to meet both rising internal demand for biofuels and big jumps in projected exports. Brazil’s sugar-based ethanol is far more energy efficient than U.S. corn-based ethanol, and getting more so through biological innovations. Today Brazil is the world’s second largest supplier and consumer of ethanol (bested only by the United States). Now the majority of its cars run on ethanol, consuming almost a third of the world supply. Brazil also has huge tracts of agricultural land that could support the projected growth in biofuels demand.

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was originally counting on U.S. ethanol producers to mix 500 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol into the country’s gasoline supply in 2012. Ain’t happening—by a long shot. After ethanol producers indicated that they would fail to meet the 2011 renewable fuel standard, the EPA reduced its 2012 mandate to a mere 8.65 million gallons.

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The Andersons, Inc. announced today the signing of an agreement to acquire an ethanol production facility in Denison, Iowa from its owners, the Amaizing Energy Denison LLC and Amaizing Energy Holding Company, LLC. The transaction, which remains subject to several contingencies, is anticipated to close in the second quarter.

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Sugar cane production in Brazil’s Center South, the main producing region of the world’s largest grower, may be 505 million metric tons in the 2012-13 season starting in April, according to Jenkins Sugar Group Inc.

That compares with 493.5 million tons so far in the current 2011-12 season, according to industry group Unica. Most of the harvesting has already been completed, Unica said on Feb. 14. Jenkins’ estimate is lower than the 520 million tons forecast by Macquarie Group Ltd., Olam International Ltd. and Kingsman SA and the 522 million tons estimated by Rabobank International.

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A second initiative has been launched to encourage more young growers to get involved in the UK sugar beet industry.

NFU Sugar, in partnership with British Sugar, has launched its second Sugar Industry Programme.

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A South Dakota corn ethanol plant will soon begin producing a fuel additive with a wider variety of uses.

Tom Hitchcock, chief executive of Redfield Energy, said the 50 million gallon-per-year plant is teaming with Englewood, Colo.-based Gevo to convert the facility in Redfield to a 40 million gallon-per-year butanol plant using the same 18 million bushels of corn a year.

Hitchcock said each gallon of butanol contains more energy than a gallon of ethanol.

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The Guyana government on Saturday denied inking a secret deal for the Trinidad and Tobago-headquartered Ansa McAl Group to build an ethanol project on 110,000 hectares of virgin land.

Word of the project only came to light last week when the Trinidad Guardian reported that the agreement was signed last September to process up to 2,000,000 tons sugarcane per year produce 40 million gallons of ethanol annually.

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LUCKNOW: For sugar cane farmers in Uttar Pradesh a novel e-governance project has come as a boon for dealing with delayed payments, under weighing of their produce, problems in selling cane and a host of other related issues.

In a state starved of any innovative governmental initiatives, the Sugar Information Service, started by the Uttar Pradesh government has earned accolades and is now the largest rural information technology platform in the country receiving 8 lakh hits for IVRS generated updates to farmers in the last 90 days and updating 2.5 crore webpages.

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The Philippines intends to be aggressive in exporting coconut sap (coco) sugar as it bids to get a major share in the $1-billion dollar alternative sweetener market, according to Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala.

“In tandem with the private sector, we are crafting a master plan to promote coconut sap sugar overseas and win a big share of the $1.1-billion global alternative sweetener market,” Alcala said.

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PUNE: The Maharashtra government has made it mandatory for the co-operative sugar industry to perform cost and energy audits. This, if implemented seriously, is expected to save crores of rupees of the co-operatives.

Maharashtra is the country's top sugar producer, having a turnover of about Rs 25,000 crore. The industry is concentrated in the co-operative sector which is controlled by political leaders.

High level of inefficiency is one of its features and the industry often gets financial support from the state and Nabard.

"We decided to make it mandatory for the sugar mills to do the cost audit because it is mandatory for the private sugar mills," Sugar Commissioner Vijay Singhal said.

source: ET

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PAN CARIBBEAN Sugar Company (PCSC) Limited is now at odds with the Sugar Industry Authority (SIA) over the pooling arrangement for a three-year supply deal between British sugar refiner Tate and Lyle and Jamaica Cane Product Sales (JCPS).

PCSC, the operators of Frome and Monymusk sugar factories, has refused to be part of the current pooling system beyond the 2011-2012 crop year, and has reportedly resigned from the Sugar Manufacturers' Corporation of Jamaica Limited.

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Efforts to create a market for cellulosic ethanol in the U.S. veered into the realm of the absurd last month when companies faced fines of $6.8 million for failing to meet a 2011 federal quota to blend 6.6 million gallons of the renewable fuel into oil and diesel supplies.

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