E15 Would Boost Sugarcane Ethanol Imports, Study Says

Putting more ethanol in Americans’ gas tanks would boost corn prices and cut income to livestock producers while having a negligible impact on supermarket prices, according to economists at the University of Missouri. But the among the biggest beneficiaries of the policy change could be foreign ethanol producers, says the Des Moines Register Phil Brasher on his blog today.

The economists, who analyze farm policy for Congress, looked at the impact of a variety of biofuel policy changes, including an increase on the amount of ethanol allowed in gasoline from the current 10 percent to 15 percent. The analysts found that raising the ethanol limit to 15 percent would boost U.S. ethanol production by 4.1 percent but increase imports of ethanol by 11.5 percent.