U.S. Ethanol Associations Set the Foundation for Ethanol Exports to South Korea

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and its domestic industry partners have communicated with their South Korean counterparts to promote U.S. ethanol exports.

A workshop hosted last week by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service in Seoul, South Korea, gave a summary of global ethanol supply and demand, offered information about past experience with ethanol policy, and discussed the merits of using ethanol versus gasoline.

The workshop aims to create a favorable atmosphere for the introduction of bioethanol in Korea in the future. After the workshop, the group held meetings with Korea's energy association, K-Petro, and the largest non-fuel ethanol company in Korea, Changhae Ethanol, discussing experiences and technologies from the U.S. fuel ethanol industry.

Currently, South Korea only uses ethanol for industrial but not transport applications. The country consumes about 3 billion gallons of petrol per year, more than any market in Asia other than China, India, and Japan.