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IL Corn celebrating market access for US ethanol in Japan

Earlier this year Japan lifted all restrictions on US ethanol imports and the Illinois Corn Growers Association is excited for the future of the market.

Collin Watters, Director of Exports and Logistics with IL Corn tells Brownfield previously Japan would not accept US ethanol because its carbon intensity score wasn’t low enough, so they worked to update the models and show Japanese officials the benefits of the product.

“So right now US ethanol can enter the Japanese market and there’s no limitation on how much can go into that market now, so it’s a level playing field between the US and Brazil.”

He says there is potential for more market growth in Japan as the country looks into direct blending and focuses on ethanol-based jet fuel technologies to expand the use of sustainable aviation fuels.

“I’m very optimistic that market will be growing and we’ll be seeing more exports to Japan soon.”

Watters says IL Corn funded research to update ethanol and carbon data and sent farmer delegations to Japan to meet with regulators, fuel retailers and lawmakers.

He says the victory was a group effort, also giving credit to efforts made by the US Grains Council, Senator Tammy Duckworth, United States Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory and University of Illinois- Chicago.