NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) – Several countries, especially in Asia, are moving to increase the use of ethanol in their car fleets to reduce demand for gasoline as oil prices remain high, a report from supply chain services provider Czarnikow said on Monday.
Czarnikow said there are calls among ethanol producers in India to increase the blend in gasoline above the current 20%.
Czarnikow said the Philippines is looking to import more ethanol to meet its E10 blending obligation.
Vietnam is reportedly planning to implement a 10% ethanol blend in gasoline starting in June, according to the report.
E20 (gasoline with 20% ethanol) is a cheaper fuel than pure gasoline in Thailand for the first time in almost a decade, Czarnikow said, adding that the country could divert more sugar to produce ethanol.
The report said that if Petrobras adjusts the local gasoline price to import parity, ethanol prices could rise to the equivalent of a raw sugar price of 18 cents per pound.
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