Ethanol exports to China increase

US exports of ethanol to China have experienced a significant jump, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported.

The increase follows a USDA-led trade mission to the China last year when representatives from nine state departments of agriculture and 28 US companies, including renewable fuel businesses, went to northeast China to explore opportunities for trade in the region. China is the largest market for US food and farm products accounting for nearly 20 percent of all foreign sales of agricultural products.

In addition to promoting US agriculture, the trade delegation met with gasoline companies, fuel blenders, oil companies, commodity traders and government officials to promote the benefits of using higher ethanol blends.

"US ethanol exports to China have jumped from $8 million to more than $86 million since our May 2014 visit," Michael Scuse, undersecretary for farm and foreign agricultural services, who led the trade mission, said in a statement on Dec 23. "In October, we exported more ethanol to China than in the previous 10 years combined."

During October, the US exported 32.5 million gallons of ethanol to China - valued at $57 million - or 46 percent of total US ethanol exports for the month. Previous US exports of ethanol to China averaged less than $3 million annually from 2005 to 2014.

The USDA said the past seven years have represented the strongest period for American agricultural exports in the history of the country, with exports totaling $911.3 billion between fiscal years 2009 and 2015. In fiscal year 2015, the US exported $139.7 billion of food and agricultural goods to consumers worldwide, according to the department.