Using Market Access Program (MAP) funds, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) sponsored a joint Vietnamese ministry and U.S. industry ethanol conference in Ho Chi Minh City to share information on the new ethanol policy in Vietnam, the advantages of increased ethanol usage and studies demonstrating ethanol marketing to consumers and environmental benefits.
More than 200 representatives participated, coming from stakeholder groups including the Vietnamese government’s ministries of finance and industry and trade, petroleum trading and petroleum distributors, private sector enterprises, the U.S. government and press.
The conference was a direct follow-up activity to the Ethanol Summit of the Asia Pacific in May 2018, which included a post-tour to Nebraska for Vietnamese attendees.
Vietnam is the fastest-growing economy in Southeast Asia, thanks to increasing population, urbanization and rapid economic growth. Total gasoline consumption is expected to grow by nearly 15 percent by 2022. Vietnam started offering E5 on Jan. 1, 2019, with a goal to move to E10 by 2020. By 2020, Vietnam could represent a 225-million-gallon ethanol market at an E10 blend rate, equivalent to roughly 80 million bushels of corn.
The Council’s work – in partnership with domestic ethanol industry partners – is already starting to pay off in sales as the Vietnamese fuel industry expands. After importing no U.S. ethanol for the last four marketing years, Vietnam has imported about three million gallons of U.S. ethanol in the 2017/2018 marketing year, valued at $4.1 million. The Council invested $130,000 of MAP funds to promote U.S. ethanol exports to Vietnam, resulting in a return on investment (ROI) of $31.53 for every $1 of MAP funding invested.
About The U.S. Grains Council
The U.S. Grains Council develops export markets for U.S. barley, corn, sorghum and related products including distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and ethanol. With full-time presence in 28 locations, the Council operates programs in more than 50 countries and the European Union. The Council believes exports are vital to global economic development and to U.S. agriculture’s profitability. Detailed information about the Council and its programs is online at www.grains.org.