Corn Ethanol Accounts For 15% Of Brazil's Ethanol Production Or 20% By 2030

Brazil's corn ethanol production continues to expand and will account for about 15% of the country's total ethanol production in 2022, according to the National Union of Corn Ethanol (Unem).

Unem expects Brazilian ethanol production to reach 30 to 32 billion liters in 2022, with corn ethanol production of about 5 billion liters. The agency expects corn ethanol production to account for at least 20% or more of Brazil's total ethanol production by 2030.

There are 30 corn ethanol processing plants in South America (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia), 18 of which are in Brazil. The state of Mato Grosso has the most plants, with 10, followed by Mato Grosso do Sul and Goiás. There are six plants in Mato Grosso that produce ethanol entirely from corn. Nine more plants are currently under construction, including in the north and northeast of Brazil.

Brazil's corn ethanol plants include plants that use only corn as well as some sugar mills. These sugar mills have been modified and expanded to use corn during the summer rainy season when no sugar cane is available. These plants are typically closed for a few months between December and March, but can produce year-round because they have been converted to use corn.