Usually associated with positive themes like soccer and samba, in 2019, several negative facts related with Brazil reverberated globally. Amazon wildfires, for example, have made headlines in international news, and the hashtag #PrayforAmazonas ranks first on Twitter’s worldwide trending topics. The British newspaper “The Guardian”, the website of US magazine “National Geographic”, the CBS television network, and several German newspapers…
The U.S. EPA released its final rule for the 2020 Renewable Fuel Standard and biomass-based diesel volumes for 2021. Disappointingly, the agency left the 2021 biomass-based diesel volumes at 2020 levels, or 2.43 billion gallons, while slightly increasing the 2020 advanced biofuel targets from its proposed 5.04 billion ethanol-equivalent gallons to 5.09 billion gallons - but this only provides growth…
On December 10th Argentina will inaugurate a new President, Alberto Fernandez, and a new vice President, Cristina Kirchner. Not much is known about President Elect Fernandez's potential future economic policies, but we know a lot about Vice President Kirchner's economic policies in the past when she was president for two terms and that is why the agricultural sector is very…
Fish feed containing protein ingredients made from ethanol produced from corn are expected to be made available on a commercial scale in Brazil in 2020, raising the stakes for soy producers supplying the aquaculture industry. Supplies of fish feed containing protein ingredients made from ethanol produced from corn are expected to be made available on a commercial scale in Brazil…
The increase in fires burning in Brazil set off a storm of international outrage last week. Celebrities, environmentalists, and political leaders blame Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, for destroying the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon, which they say is the “lungs of the world.” Singers and actors including Madonna and Jaden Smith shared photos on social media that were seen by…
Declining protein levels in Brazil, the world’s top soybean supplier, spell trouble for exporters who are faced with the prospect of cancellations, selling beans at a discount or stricter contracts requiring quality assurances with buyers who want to guarantee a nutrient-rich purchase. The protein content in Brazil’s 2018 soy crop harvested around January of that year slipped to an average…
BASF announced that it has developed a process for the production of methanol without any greenhouse gas emissions. It has applied for patents covering the technology. The company says that if the process can be successfully implemented at an industrial scale, the entire production process - from syngas production to pure metanol - will not release any carbon dioxide (CO2)…
The U.K. Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has released new energy data for 2018, reporting that ethanol consumption increased last year, while biodiesel consumption hit a new record high. According to the BEIS, 1.925 billion liters (508.5 million gallons) of liquid biofuels were consumed by the U.K. transportation sector last year, up 33 percent when compared to 2017.…
Malaysian palm oil futures charted a third session of loses in four on Thursday evening, tracking weakness in overnight U.S. soy oil prices and on forecasts of slower-than-expected declines in output. The benchmark palm oil contract for July delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.6% at 2,157 ringgit (US$521.77) a tonne at the close of trade, after…