Brazil and Japan Link Up on Ethanol

Thanks to Green Car Congress, here are two background stories from earlier in 2005 that report on the growing interest in Japan to expand imports of Brazilian ethanol.

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Brazil and Japan Link Up in Biofuel Pact
4 February 2005

Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) are developing a bilateral program to increase the production of ethanol and biodiesel in Brazil and its supply to the Japanese market.

Beginning later this spring, Japanese and Brazilian technicians will create a detailed profile of Brazil’s agro energy sources and develop plans for the expansion of ethanol production in Brazil.

In 2003 the Japanese government regulated a law that authorizes the mixture of up to 3% of alcohol with gasoline.

Now their interest has turned to financing long-term projects capable of increasing Brazilian production and guaranteeing the continuous and regular exportation of this product to Japan.

This will allow Brazil to accumulate exportable surpluses to supply the Japanese market, which, at the outset, already presents a demand of 1.8 billion liters per year.

The future bilateral agreement should also provide incentives to the production of biodiesel in Northeast Brazil.

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Japan and Brazil Cooperating to Promote Ethanol Use
26 May 2005

Bloomberg. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva agreed on the need for more non-governmental cooperation to promote ethanol use, according to a statement released in Tokyo by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Japan expects to introduce more vehicle fuels containing ethanol, and will pursue ongoing talks with Brazil.

Japan is turning to ethanol as a fuel additive as one measure to help it meet its goal for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol. Brazil wants to increase its ethanol exports by boosting sales to Japan, the world’s second-largest gasoline market after the U.S.

Six Japanese prefectures are running tests with ethanol. Currently, gasoline in Japan may contain up to 3% ethanol. Brazil requires gasoline to contain a minimum of 25%.

Separately, Japanese media reported that Mitsui & Co. is working with Brazil’s Petrobras and Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) to study how to expand Brazil’s exports of ethanol.

Earlier this year, Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) announced that they were developing a bilateral program to increase the production of ethanol and biodiesel in Brazil and its supply to the Japanese market.