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Ethanol Exports Update for May

July 14, 2010

           

Total ethanol exports for May fell 58% from April's totals. Compared to March and April total exports of 48.3 million gallons and 40.8 million gallons, U.S. producers exported only 17.1 million gallons in the month of May. Still, May exports were well above the five-year monthly average. Further, through the first five months of 2010, the U.S. has exported 25% more product than in the entire 2009 calendar year. Denatured ethanol export numbers for May totaled at 11.2 million gallons, down from 24.9 million gallons in April. Canada and the Netherlands were the destination for 87% of the denatured ethanol shipments. After importing significant quantities in April, Jamaica, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) imported virtually no U.S. denatured ethanol in May. Undenatured, non-beverage ethanol exports totaled just 5.9 million gallons in May. Top destinations were the Netherlands, UAE and Mexico. Those three nations accounted for more than 95% of U.S. exports of undenatured, non-beverage product. At 141.4 million gallons, 2010 U.S. exports are still on track for a record year. Exports totaled 157.8 million gallons in 2008 and 150.2 million gallons in 2007. The record year is believed to have been 1995, when 197.5 million gallons of denatured and undenatured ethanol were exported. Since January 2005, the monthly average for total ethanol exports has been 10.2 million gallons.       Source: Dept. of Commerce, Census Bureau, USDA-FAS; Export figures represent sum of "Ethyl alcohol and other spirits, denatured, of any strength" and "Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of 80 percent vol. or higher." Thus, the figures likely include ethyl alcohol exports for non-fuel industrial purposes.