U.S. ethanol exports totaled 171.6 million gallons (mg) in April, registering below 200 mg for the first time in 6 months amid broadly weaker shipments across several key markets. Canada reversed its March surge, declining 14% to 64.8 mg, while maintaining its position as the leading destination for denatured fuel ethanol. Exports to the European Union fell 42% to a 9-month low of 34.1 mg, though strong demand from the Netherlands continued to underpin the market for undenatured ethanol. Shipments to South Korea jumped 57% to a 4-year high of 16.4 mg, while imports by the Philippines retreated 27% to 11.1 mg. Collectively, these four markets accounted for roughly three-quarters of all U.S. ethanol exports in April. Other significant destinations included the United Kingdom (10.4 mg), Peru (8.6 mg), Mexico (8.0 mg), Nigeria (6.6 mg), and Colombia (6.3 mg). Notably, exports to Brazil dropped to essentially zero as the country emerged from its interharvest period, and India was also absent from the market for U.S. ethanol. Year-to-date U.S. ethanol exports reached 811.3 mg, running 13% ahead of the same period last year.
U.S. imports remained negligible in April. Total fuel ethanol imports during the first four months of 2026 totaled 205,319 gallons.
U.S. exports of dried distillers grains (DDGS), the animal feed coproduct generated by dry-mill ethanol plants, edged down 1% in April to 1.02 million metric tons (mt). Shipments to Mexico decreased 3% to 206,786 mt, while exports to Indonesia declined 15% to 139,653 mt. Exports to South Korea rebounded 6% to 121,565 mt, shipments to Vietnam increased 13% to 114,782 mt, and exports to Turkey surged 32% to 94,663 mt. Together, these five markets accounted for roughly two-thirds of all DDGS exports in April, with fewer than 20 additional destinations comprising the balance. For the first four months of 2026, DDGS exports totaled 3.98 million mt, up 12% from the same period in 2025.
