Nov 02, 2021
19.3% of Mato Grosso's 2021/22 Corn Production Used for Ethanol
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The state of Mato Grosso is the largest corn ethanol producing state in Brazil responsible for 85% of Brazil's corn ethanol production. Corn ethanol production has increased in Mato Grosso every year since the first corn ethanol facility in Brazil started operations in 2017 in the city of Lucas do Rio Verde in central Mato Grosso. In September alone, corn ethanol production in Mato Grosso was up 41% compared to a year earlier.
The Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea) estimates that 7.7 million tons of Mato Grosso's 2021/22 corn production will be used for ethanol production. Conab is estimating that Mato Grosso will produce 39.9 million tons of corn in 2021/22, so approximately 19.3% of the corn in the state will be used for ethanol production. That is an amazing percentage given the fact that corn ethanol production in the state only started in a major way 5 years ago.
Corn ethanol production in Mato Grosso will continue to expand at a rapid pace as new corn ethanol facilities come online. The Brazilian Minister of Agriculture was in the city of Sorriso, Mato Grosso last week to inaugurate FS Bioenergia's second corn ethanol facility in the state which started operations late last year.
FS Bioenergia is Brazil's largest corn ethanol producer and they already operate a facility at the city of Lucas do Rio Verde which was Brazil's first corn-based ethanol facility. The capacity of that facility has since been expanded to 530 million liters per year. The Sorriso facility was expanded in 2021 and it now has the capacity of 810 million liters per year. These two facilities have the capacity to produce 1.4 billion liters of corn ethanol and to utilize 3.2 million tons of corn annually. Combined, these two facilities represent more than 5% of Brazil's total ethanol production.
The CEO of FS Bioenergia announced plans to build a third facility in the city of Primavera do Leste in southeastern Mato Grosso that is scheduled to be operational in 2024. The company also announced plans to build an additional three more corn ethanol facilities in the state by 2026