Brazilian Sugarcane Group to Partner with China on Ethanol Plants

26 March 2007

Grupo Farias, one of the larger sugarcane processors in northeast Brazil, has signed a protocol of intentions with Chinese investors to build ethanol plants that could process up to 10 million metric tons of sugarcane per harvest.

The Chinese companies interested in investing in Brazilian ethanol mills could be Jilin Fuel Ethanol, Henan Tianguan, Anhui Fengyuan Bio-Chemical and Heilongjiang China Resources Jinyu, which together produce 1 billion liters (264 million gallons US) of ethanol per year, said the report.

China is the world’s third largest ethanol producer behind the US and Brazil, but the country has limited land and water for agricultural expansion.  In December, the Chinese government directed ethanol producers to concentrate on using non-food crops as feedstocks due to concerns about food prices. (Earlier post.)