Executive leadership from the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) recently traveled to Southeast Asia (SEA) to underscore the U.S. industry’s support of the governments of Indonesia and Vietnam as they expand their domestic fuel ethanol policies.
USGC President and CEO Ryan LeGrand, Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor and RFA Vice President Tad Hepner joined Council staff based in its Southeast Asia and Oceania (SEA&O) regional office for high-level meetings with government officials and private sector leaders.
Indonesia is working toward instituting a five percent blend of fuel ethanol into gasoline for retail use (E5) in 2025 and a 10 percent blend (E10) by 2030. Concurrently, Vietnam is exploring opportunities to expand its current E5 mandate for the RON92 (88 AKI) grade of gasoline. Indonesia and Vietnam currently consume roughly 10 billion gallons and three billion gallons of gasoline per year, respectively.
“The governments of Indonesia and Vietnam see the potential of ethanol in reducing costs along the supply chain while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the Council and its allies are working to assure policymakers that ethanol is a viable and compatible option for nearly all road vehicles,” LeGrand said.
In Indonesia, the team met with Pertamina, Indonesia’s state-run oil and gas company, to discuss the company’s current bioethanol trial and tour Indonesia’s largest fuel terminal, where fuel ethanol blending is now happening. Afterwards, the delegation held official meetings with Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and the Coordinating Ministry of Infrastructure and Rural Development to discuss the progress of the country’s biofuel implementation efforts and additional areas of potential cooperation.
The Council’s delegation also met with representatives from the Indonesian Association of Spirits and Ethanol Producers (APSENDO) and Molindo, Indonesia’s largest producer of food grade ethanol, to discuss ongoing partnerships and the outlook for ethanol production and demand.
The delegation then traveled to Vietnam for meetings with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance to discuss further cooperation activities underpinning Vietnam’s efforts to expand the use of ethanol. Representatives from across the private sector supply chain also met with the U.S. delegation to discuss the local opportunities for ethanol and how U.S. producers can further collaborate with the Vietnamese industry to leverage ethanol’s financial, environmental and human health benefits.
“The Council, its members and partner organizations all stand ready to support Indonesia, Vietnam and the entire SEA region in reaching their economic, human health and climate goals with ethanol,” LeGrand said. “The U.S. ethanol industry is more than prepared to service increased demand in SEA and beyond with affordable, sustainable biofuels.”
Learn more about the Council’s work in ethanol here.
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.