Brazil to expand Cuba’s sugar ethanol production

The Brazilian Government wants to encourage the production of ethanol from sugar cane in Cuba, which would transform the Caribbean country to the world third largest renewable fuel supplier, only after the U.S. and Brazil.

The idea is to build farmers markets, and therefore to ensure a distribution network to consolidate ethanol internationally as a "tradable commodity".

It is expected that this measure along with Cuba's support can reduce the current extreme fragility of the sugar sector. Like Brazil, Havana in the 1970’s produced large quantities of sugar cane, with an average of 8 million tons per year, but currently Cuba only produces 1.2 million tons.

The Brazilian proposal was intensively discussed last week in Havana, including a meeting among the Minister of Development and Industry of Brazil, Fernando Pimentel, the Cuban Foreign Trade Minister Rodrigo Malmierca D?az and President Raul Castro.

The Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is very exited about this commercial opportunity of expanding the sugar ethanol market, she believes that a country that had at one time 120 sugar mills, is ripe for improvement and growth of this particular business and it will result in great benefits to the Brazilian ethanol industry.

source: presstv