The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery of Japan, Shoichi Nakagawa, will be in Brazil this week to see the local ethanol production. This is the first time that a Japanese minister of Agriculture comes to Brazil in 24 years.
The invitation was made by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply of Brazil. The government wishes to demonstrate the Brazilian capacity in the product’s production and export.
The Japanese mixture of alcohol to gasoline is of 3%, but the Japanese government wishes to increase it to 10%, which could open a market for 3.6 billion liters of alcohol.
In 2005, Brazil exported to Japan about US$ 1.6 billion in agriculture and livestock products, volume 25% greater than in the previous year. Alcohol exports added up to US$ 93 million. The Asian country annually consumes about 36 billion liters of gasoline.
Anba