Dec 24, 2019
Brazil Exports First Shipment of Dry Distillers Grain
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
It's a sign of the times. The Port of Paranagua in southern Brazil announced that they started to load Brazil's first export shipment of dry distillers grain (DDG) on December 22nd. The 27,500 ton shipment is destined for the United Kingdom.
This first shipment of DDGs was brought in by more than 700 trucks from the city of Sinop in northern Mato Grosso. It was produced by the company Inpasa Agroundustrial S.A. who will open a second corn ethanol facility in the state in 2020. The company already operates two corn ethanol facilities in neighboring Paraguay.
Port officials are confident that this first shipment of a new product will go smoothly and they have indicated that there have been numerous inquiries from other countries concerning DDG exports from Brazil.
Brazil's first corn-based ethanol facility was opened in 2017 and now Brazil has 8 facilities that use corn to make ethanol, 6 are under construction, and at least 7 are in the design phase. By comparison, Brazil has 349 sugar mills that utilize sugarcane to make sugar and ethanol. Some of the traditional sugar mills have been retrofitted to utilize corn to make ethanol during the time of the year when sugarcane is not available.
The United States has dominated the DDG export market, but Brazil is now poised to enter the market as well.