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On October 17, 2024, the Tariff Changes Committee (CAT) of the Chamber of Foreign Trade (Camex) rejected the request made by the Brazilian Association of Fuel Importers (ABICOM) and the U.S. Grains Council to remove the 18 percent tariff on ethanol imports to Brazil.

Brazil is the world’s second-largest ethanol and third-largest biodiesel producer but has yet to introduce renewable diesel or sustainable aviation fuel. Post forecasts total ethanol production at 32.5 billion liters in CY 2024, with cane ethanol forecast at 25.5 billion liters and corn ethanol production at seven billion liters.

With a new government in place since December 2023, the biofuels sector is projected to move on to a freer business environment through less limitations and official controls. Changes are expected to come through a new biofuels law or reforms to the current one in place since 2021.

Colombia’s ethanol consumption in 2024 is projected to increase to 728 million liters, mainly owing to the government’s restored 10 percent ethanol mandate (E10). Heightened ethanol demand is expected to be met through imports, primarily from the United States, despite the countervailing duty on U.S. fuel ethanol.

During the past few years, the landscape for U.S. renewable diesel production has drastically changed, akin to the growth of ethanol and biodiesel during the past two decades. Driven by federal and state policies aimed at reducing emissions, this dramatic U.S. renewable diesel production and capacity growth is causing significant, market-altering shifts both domestically and to foreign feedstock trade.

On January 5, 2024, The Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Ministry of Economy authorized for the first time the commercialization of four genetically modified (GM) yeasts to enhance bioethanol production through grain fermentation. Industry supports this decision and expects it to help pave the way for a cleaner and more sustainable future in fuels.