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Brazil’s Leadership In Ethanol Was Born In The 1930s
By Mr Ethanol | December 13, 2007
Brazzil.com:
Thirty years ago, when one liter of ethanol was worth three times more than one liter of gasoline, most nations would not have considered investing in it as a biofuel. But Brazil took this path, and now produces the cheapest ethanol in the world.
Brazil’s favorable conditions and tradition for culturing sugarcane - the most efficient raw material for the production of ethanol - were essential for developing the sector.
But it was the government’s massive investment in infrastructure and research between 1975 and 1989 that allowed the country to become a leader in the ethanol market.
Brazil’s ethanol industry started in the 1930s. With more sugar than it could use, the government directed sugarcane into ethanol production and made the addition of ethanol to gasoline compulsory.
But it was in 1973 that the industry really progressed. An international oil crisis doubled Brazil’s expenditure on oil imports and the government was forced to consider alternative sources of energy to decrease its dependency and spending on fossil fuels.
With that in mind, the military government launched the National Alcohol Program (Pro-Álcool) in 1975 to increase ethanol production as a substitute for gasoline.
It invested in increasing agricultural production, modernizing and expanding distilleries, and establishing new production plants. It also introduced subsidies to lower prices and reduced taxes for ethanol producers. Continue reading…
Photo by Lalo de Almeida / The New York Times.
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