Brazil Petrobras To Import Ethanol For Domestic Use

Brazilian state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, plans to increase ethanol imports because of a shortage of the biofuel in the country, the president of Petrobras Biocombustivel said Thursday.

"All companies that have the conditions to do so are importing ethanol," Petrobras's Miguel Rossetto told reporters. "We are importing and are going to import ethanol to supply the domestic market."

Despite the ethanol imports, Brazil should remain a net exporter of the clean-burning biofuel, Rossetto said. Brazil, the world's largest producer and exporter of sugar-cane ethanol, should export about 2 million cubic meters of ethanol in 2011, while importing fewer than 1 million, the executive said.

Brazil has suffered with lower-than-expected sugar cane harvests for two consecutive years, which has caused a shortage of the fuel. A shortage during the interharvest period earlier this year caused a rise in ethanol prices that affected inflation in Latin America's largest economy.

Given the heated domestic demand for the fuel, "Brazil should increase ethanol imports," Rossetto said.

Petrobras plans to invest $4.1 billion in biofuels through 2015, with increasing ethanol production a focus of the investments, the executive said.

source: online.wsj