Ethanol exports rebounded sharply in September, as shipments to Brazil hit their highest level since April. According to U.S. government data released today, a total of 105.8 million gallons (mg) of denatured and undenatured (non-beverage) ethanol were exported in September, with nearly half of the shipments going to Brazil. September exports were the third highest on record. Year-to-date exports stood at 746.5 mg at the end of September, almost double the amount exported in the entire 2010 calendar year. The U.S. remains on pace to export between 900 mg and 1 billion gallons in 2011.
Denatured ethanol exports totaled 74.1 mg for the month, with Brazil receiving 31.1 mg. Canada (28.9 mg) followed closely, while the United Kingdom (5.2 mg), Jamaica (4.0 mg) and the Netherlands (3.2 mg) were other top destinations for denatured product in September. On a year-to-date basis, denatured ethanol exports stand at 573 mg, or about 77 percent of total shipments.
As for undenatured ethanol, total exports amounted to 31.8 mg in September, the highest monthly total of the year. Brazil was the leading destination, taking in 15.8 mg. Finland (4.6 mg), Mexico (4.5 mg), the Netherlands (3.7 mg), and the OPEC nation Nigeria (3.0 mg) rounded out the top five for the month. Year-to-date 2011 exports of undenatured ethanol stand at 173.3 mg, or 23 percent of total exports.
Through the first nine months of the year, Canada and Brazil remain neck-and-neck as the leading markets for U.S. ethanol exports. Canada has imported 210 mg of U.S. ethanol, while Brazil has received 202 mg. Together, these two markets have account for 55 percent of total U.S. export demand.
After hitting an annual high in August, distillers grains (DG) exports dipped 17 percent in September. U.S. exports of DG totaled 685,483 metric tons (mt), down from 829,489 mt in August. For the first time this year, China was the leading destination for DG exports, receiving 180,069 mt. That is up 19 percent from August and the highest level of exports to China since November 2010. Mexico, which had been the leading market for U.S. DDGS exports in the first eight months of the year, dropped to second with 122,444 mt. Canada, Vietnam and Taiwan were other top markets in September. Year-to-date exports of DG stand at 5.94 million mt, meaning the U.S. is on pace to export nearly 8 million mt in 2011, down about 11 percent from 2010.
