Country News
Brazil: Low gasoline prices are discouraging the use of ethanol and so the government is considering a new program called RenovaBio that would issue Certificates of Emissions Reductions (CERs). Fuel distributors would have to acquire a specified amount of CERs indicating ethanol usage, and they would be tradable on the market. (Reuters)
Canada: Cold temperatures and snow still in the fields of western provinces are preventing farmers from harvesting crops left in the field last fall, including barley. This kind of weather has not been seen in 30 years, and farmers that ordinarily plant in May could be forced to wait until June. This will likely impact yields. (Reuters)
China: Sinograin reported that there were no bidders for 8,890 tons of corn offered on April 21. China may start state corn sales in large volumes in May, where lower bidding prices are expected. (Bloomberg)
Mexico: The Mexican Association of Sustainable Transportation has submitted a plan to the government that would raise the current ethanol blend requirement from 5.8 percent to 10 percent. The plan would utilize more crops like sorghum and hope to foster economic development. (Reuters)
Ukraine: Grain exports in March were up 52 percent with maize shipments jumping to 3.1 MMT, the largest volume thus far in the 2016/17 marketing year. (Reuters)