Alcohol in Brazil is not only used to prepare Caipirinhas and Mojitos (Brazilian traditional drinks) but also, we take advantage from it and use as a sustainable energy.
Brazil has grown sugar cane for 500 years and it is by far the world’s biggest exporter of it. The country exports 70% of its sugar production and 75% of its ethanol output is still sold at home.
Biofuels, mainly derived from sugar, are Brazil’s most important source of energy after oil. The ethanol is blended with gasoline and used as an automobile fuel in countries such as Brazil, USA, EU, Mexico, India, Argentina, Colombia and recently Japan.
Specialists say that the ethanol market will grow and the sugar industry can triple its electricity co-generation capacity 15.000mw (around 27% of Brazil’s demand today) from its present acreage of cane. Until a world ethanol market takes off, Brazil’s producers will stay uncomfortably dependent on domestic sales and on Petrobras (the national oil giant). The company is both their biggest customer (because it buys ethanol to mix with petrol) and their top competitor (because its petrol competes with all-ethanol biofuels). It is also the fourth-biggest ethanol producer itself.
