Ethanol Demands Building in Canada and U.S.

WINNIPEG - Dec 8/06 - SNS -- Meeting Canada's ethanol production goals for the year 2012 will consume half the corn now produced annually in Canada and roughly 10% of the wheat produced, according to an analysis by Stan Spak, an analyst with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Market Analysis Division here.

Canada now produces around 600 million liters of ethanol annually, consuming one million metric tons (MT) of corn and 500,000 MT of wheat. The pace of growth in Canada is modest compared to the United States, where 100 plants are now in operation and another 50 plants are either in the planning or construction stage.

"With that pace of expansion, the U.S. is soon expected to surpass Brazil as the leading producer of ethanol. Canada also has plans to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and lower green house gases by expanding ethanol production, albeit on a much smaller scale," Spak said.

Looking at the bigger picture, Spak notes world ethanol production is expected to exceed 15 billion imperial gallons by 2007, as the ethanol industry continues to experience double digit growth.

Subscribers can read the full text of the article by Clicking here