(Argus Media) The ethanol lobby in Brazil’s lower house of congress is proposing a bill to suspend imports of gasoline, diesel and ethanol for 90 days, after President Jair Bolsonaro rejected calls to raise the gasoline tax. The bill would effectively reduce gasoline supply in order to boost hydrous ethanol demand, according to the proposal’s author, congressman Arnaldo Jardim, who also leads the legislative agricultural caucus (FPA).
…
Jardim said the bill seeks to guarantee the survival of domestic biofuels industry and preserve jobs. Brazil has roughly 400 cane mills that produce sugar and ethanol, which represent 2pc of the country’s GDP, he said.
Jardim highlighted this would be a temporary measure that would also help the domestic refining industry and preserve Brazil’s hard currency reserves.
Industry leaders say Brazil’s ethanol sector will collapse if demand for the biofuel does not recover soon.
The sector has been hit hard by the social isolation measures, aimed at checking the spread of Covid-19, and the oil price crash in March. The latter made the price of rival gasoline more competitive against ethanol at the pump. READ MORE