The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the U.S. ethanol export market in South Korea and Southeast Asia, which the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) worked to address through programming that supported expanded industrial ethanol sales into the country and the region as a whole.
In August 2020, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) held a virtual conference with KC&A, the largest U.S. ethanol buyer in Asia, to expand the supply of ethanol for hand sanitizer and to maintain industrial and ethanol exports to Southeast Asia through Ulsan port.
Later in September 2020, the Council held a virtual ethanol buyers conference to continue to develop and expand the fuel and industrial ethanol markets during a time of shifted demand due to pandemic restrictions. The conference provided ethanol buyers with information on the current state of the U.S. ethanol industry and export opportunities for fuel and industrial grade ethanol, in addition to facilitating business opportunities between U.S. suppliers and global buyers. From Korea, 11 ethanol buyers and stakeholders, including KC&A, participated and had the opportunity to hold one-on-one business meetings with U.S. ethanol suppliers.
Additional direct contacts with ethanol industry participants followed up on these engagements to ensure they had sufficient information to make decisions during challenging market conditions.
New ethanol sales to Korea were realized through these activities to help participants grasp the latest market information, find new demand in the region, and diversify their supply chains by meeting new suppliers.
A total of $147.7 million of U.S. ethanol was exported to South Korea in 2020, an increase of 81% compared to 2017. By volume, this increase was 94%, from 41 million gallons to 80 million gallons. Driven by these sales, Korea’s Ulsan Port is becoming an important transshipment port for exports of U.S. industrial and fuel ethanol to Southeast Asia. Ulsan can accept large tank vessels, ultimately reducing transportation costs to Southeast Asia and increasing the
competitivity of U.S. ethanol in the region.
The Council has invested $245,000 in MAP funds in these promotion programs resulting in an increase of $66 million in industrial ethanol exports to South Korea over the past four years, an ROI of $269 per $1 MAP invested over the past four years.
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.